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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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LESSONS 



GEOGRAPHY. 



ISDB"V-XSSJD :E)3DITI03Sr. 



By ]fff SCOVELL, 

Instructor in Geography and Natural Science, Indiana State Normal School. 




INDIANAPOLIS : 

SENTINEL COMPANY, PRINTERS. 

1874. 

Copyright Secured. 



>r 



Entered According to Act of Congress, in the Year 1874, by 

J. T. SCOVELL, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 



PREFACE. 



Geography is the science of the earth as a whole; hence, must 
include all the facts of chemistry, physics, geology, meteorology, 
botany, zoology, anthropology, ethnology, history, religion, and many 
facts in astronomy, geometry, and other sciences, in short, it includes 
all facts pertaining to earth and man. If all students could take a 
course of study including these sciences, all the geography neces- 
sary would be a few lectures toward the Close of the course for the 
purpose of showing the relations of these different subjects to each 
other, as parts of one whole— the earth. Few ever complete such a 
course, the great majority never begin it; for such, a geography is 
necessary, which shall be a compilation of facts from the different 
sciences, so arranged as to give a general idea of the earth as a 
whole. These facts should be so stated, that when learned they will 
not have to be unlearned, but will serve as aids in the study of the 
different sciences afterward. The aim in the following pages is to 
carry out, in some degree, this idea. As heat is so important a 
factor in all the activities of matter, whether mechanical or vital, the 
effects of heat and the conditions which modify its intensity and 
distribution over the earth have been carefully discussed. 

J. T. S. 
Terke Haute, December 25, 1877. 



BOOKS OF REFERENCE. 



For a more complete idea of the subject tban can be gained from 
this work, the following books may be consulted with profit: 

1. Guyot's, Cornell's, or some good Physical Geography. 

2. Eclectic No. 3, Guyot's Grammar School, or some other good 
Political Geography. 

3. Natural Philosophy or Physics, by Cooley or Norton. 

4. Chemistry, by Youmans or Elliott and Storer. 

5. Astronomy, by Prof. Loomis or Lockyer. 

6. Text Book of Geology or " The Geological Story Briefly Told," 
by Prof. Dana. 

7. Sketches of Creation, by Prof. Winchell. 

8. Evolution, by Prof. "Winchell. 

9. Geometry, by Loomis, Kay, or Robinson. 

10. Meteorology, by Prof. Loomis. 

11. How Plants Grow, by Prof. Gray. 

12. Zoology, by Orton or Tenney. 

13. Ten Great Religions, by J. Freeman Clark. 

14. Lectures on the Science of Religion, by Max Miiller. 

15. Lectures on the Science of Language, by Max Miiller. 

16. Life and Growth of Language, by W. D. Whitney. 

17. Brace on the Races. 

18. History of Culture, by Hittell. 

19. General History, by Edward A. Freeman. 

20. Lippincott's Gazeteer. 

21. A good Cyclopedia, as Appleton's, Johnson's, or Chambers' 
will give full information on these subjects. 

22. The Science Primers, on Astronomy, Chemistry, Botany, etc., 
published by D. Appleton & Co., furnish good information on these 
subjects. 






GEOGRAPHY. 



§ 1. Geography is the science of the earth as a whole. It 
is a general science including the fundamental ideas of most 
other sciences. It treats of the form, size, and motions of 
the earth, and of the successive changes which the earth has 
undergone. It treats of the land, water, air, and life of the 
earth as separate wholes, and of their relations as parts of 
one greater whole — the earth. It treats of the earth and 
man as distinct beings, and of tlxeir relation as beings 
created for each other. 

The earth and the body of man are composed of matter ; 
henoe we must study matter, and the forces acting on mat- 
ter, and the various conditions, properties, and phenomena 
of matter depending on the action of these forces. 

§ 2. Matter. — Matter is that which occupies space, and 
of which we may gain some knowledge by means of our 
senses. 

§ 3. Extension. — Extension is that property of matter by 
which it occupies space. Matter has three extensions, length, 
breadth, and thickness, 

§ 4. Bodies oe Objects. — The various things around us, 
as books, plants, animals, or stones are bodies, or objects. 
By objects are meant material objects. 

§ 5. Conditions OP Matter. — Matter exists in three condi- 
tions: 1. Thesolid] as, wood, copper, and iron. 2. The liquid; 
as, water, milk, and oil. 3. The gaseous ; as, air, burning 
gas, etc. 

§ 6. Impenetrability. — By impenetrability is meant that 
no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time. 

That bodies do occupy space, and that no two can occupy 
the same space at the same time, may be shown by the fol- 
lowing experiments: 1. Take a glass partly full of water 



LESSONS IN GEOGEAPHY. 



and thrust the hand or a piece of wood into the water, and 
the water is pushed away by the hand or the wood. 2. 
Invert the glass and thrust it down into a dish oi water, and 
the water rises' but a little way inside the glass, the air keeps 
it out. 3. Invert the glass again and thrust it a little way 
into the water, then push under it through the water a large 
cork, and the bubbles show that the cork has pushed out 
some of the air. If these and other similar experiments 
have been carefully performed and observed, one may infer 
that no two objects can occupy the same space at the same 
time. 

DEFINITIONS IN FORM. 

§ 7. A Surface. — A surface is limited extension in two 
directions ; it has length and breadth without thickness. 
An object is bounded by a surface or surfaces ; as, the surface 
of a ball, or the surfaces of a book. 

§ 8. A Plane Surface. — A plane surface is one which 
does not change direction in any portion of its extent; as, 
the upper surface of a table or of a floor. 

§ 9. A Plane. — A plane is unlimited, unvarying exten- 
sion in two directions. The plane surface has limits, while 
the plane has none. 

§ 10. A Curved Surface. — A curved surface is one 
which changes direction continuously and regularly in one 
or in both of its extensions ; as, the surface of a stovepipe 
or of a ball. 

§ 11. A Line. — A line is extension in one direction; it 
has length, but no breadth or thickness. Surfaces are lim- 
ited by a line or lines ; as, the line bounding the surface of a 
coin, or the lines bounding the surface of a book. 

§ 12. A Point. — A point is simply location without exten- 
sion. Points limit the extent of lines. 

§ 13. Straight, Curved, and Crooked Lines. — 1. A 
straight line is one whose direction does not change ; 2. A 
curved line is one whose direction changes continuously and 
regularly; 3. A crooked line is one whose direction changes 
irregularly. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



§ 14. Parallel LiNES.--Parallel lines are lines extend- 
ing in the same direction, which can never meet however far 
they extend. They are equidistant from each other through- 
out their extent. 

§ 15. An Angle. — An angle is the difference in direction 
of two lines which meet, or the opening between two lines 
which meet. 




The figure ABC represents an angle, the lines A B and 
B C are the sides, and B is the vertex of the angle. 

§ 16. A Circle, — ^A circle is a plane surface bounded by 
a curved line, such that all points in that line are equally 
distant from a point within called the center. The boundary 
line is a circumference ; a straight line passing through the 
center terminating in the circumference is a diameter; and 
a straight line passing from the center to any point in the 
circumference is a radius. 

§ 17. Divisions op a Circumfebence.— A circumference 
is divided into 360 equal parts called degrees ; each degree 
into 60 equal parts called minutes ; each minute is divided 
into 60 equal parts called seconds. 5° 6' 8" reads five 
degrees, six minutes and eight seconds. 

§ 18. Measurement op Angles. — An angle is measured 
by the number of degrees of a circumference included 
between its sides. The center from which the circumference 
is drawn must be the vertex of the angle. 

§ 19. A Eight Angle.— A right angle includes between 
its sides, and is measured by, 90® of a circumference, 

§ 20. Acute and Obtuse Angles — An acute angle in- 
cludes between its sides, and is measured by, less than 90® ; 
while an obtuse angle includes between its sides, and is 
measured by. more than 90® of a circumference. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 




The surface 
bounded b y | 
the line A D 
F G is a circle, I 
and the line is I 
a circumfer- 
ence] the lines! 
A F and D G 
are diameters ; 
each of the 
lines C D, C 
B, etc.. is a ra- 
dius ; A C G I 
and GC Fare! 
n^/i^ angles; D 
C E is an acute I 
angle ; D C B ] 
is an acute an- 
gle of about 23i° ; A C E and F C N are obtuse angles. C is 
the center of the circle and the common vertex of the angles. 

§ 21. An Ellipse. — An ellipse is a plane surface bounded 
by a curved line, such that the sum of the distances from any 
point in that line to two fixed points within is invariable. 
The fixed points are called the foci of the ellipse. The diam- 
eters of an ellipse are unequal. 

§22. Perpendicular Lines. — Perpendicular lines are 
those which meet each other so as to form one or two right 
angles. A B C is a right 
angle, and the lines A 
B and C B are perpen- 
dicular to each other. 



D E F and D E G are right angles, and the lines D E and G 
F are perpendicular to each other. 

§23. Oblique Lines. — Oblique lines are those which 
meet each other so as to form an acute or an obtuse 
angle, or so as to form both an acute and an obtuse angle. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



A B C is an acute angle, D B F is an obtuse angle, G H J 
is an acute angle, while G- H I is an obtuse angle, and the 
lines in each case are obliqu^ to each other. 

§ 24. Vertical Lines. — Vertical lines are those extend- 
ing through or toward the center of the earth ; as, a plumb 
line. 

§ 25. Horizontal Lines. — Horizontal lines are lines par- 
allel to the horizon or perpendicular to a vertical line. The 
horizon is the line where the earth and sky seem to meet. 

Note. — Lines may lave the same relations to surfaces and planes 
that they have to each other; and the same relations may exist 
between surfaces, between planes, and between planes and surfaces 
as exist between lines. 

§ 26. A Triangle. — A triangle is a plane surface bounded 
by three straight lines. 

§ 27. A Square. — A square is a plane surface bounded by 
four equal straight lines, and having four right angles. 

§ 28. A Cube. — A cube is a body bounded by six equal 
squares. 

§ 29, A Cylinder. — A cylinder is a body bounded by a 
surface curving uniformly in one direction, and whose ends 
are bounded by parallel circles. 

§ 30. A Sphere. — A sphere is a body bounded by a sur- 
face such that all points in that surface are equallj^ distant 
from a point within called the center. The surface of a 
sphere curves uniformly in both directions. A sphere has 
circumferences, diameters, and radii. 

§ 31. Circles of a Sphere. — Any section or cutting of a 
sphere made by a plane is a circle. If the plane pass through 
the center of the sphere, the section is a great circle; if the 
plane does not pass thi-ough the center, the section is a small 
circle. Each great circle divides the sphere and every other 
great circle into equal parts. The circles of a sphere may be 
illustrated by cutting an aj^ple or a potato. 

§ 32. A Zone. — A zone is a portion of the surface of a 
sphere included between two parallel circles. The term zone 
is properly applied to a belt of surface around any object 
whatever its form, even though its sides be not exactly 
parallel. 



10 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

MOTION, FOECE, AND KINDS OF MATTER. 

§ 33. Eest and Motion. — Rest is that condition in which 
a body is when it is not changing its position with reference 
to other bodies around it, while motion is that condition in 
which a body is when it is changing its position. 

§ 34. Force. — Force is that which causes, or tends to 
cause, the conditions of rest or motion. 

§ 35. Divisibility. — Divisibility is that property of mat- 
ter which allows it to be broken into very small pieces. 
Experiment : Take a piece of salt or sugar and break it with 
a hammer till it seems a mass of dust, then throw a little of 
this dust into a glass of water, and it disappears from sight, 
but the taste shows that the salt or the sugar still exists as 
salt or sugar, although the eye can not detect them. 

§ 36. Kinds op Matter. — The land, water, air, plants, 
and animals are made up of more than sixty different kinds 
of matter or elements ; as gold, silver, iron, etc. Thirteen of 
these make up 99 per cent, of the earth as far as known. 

1. Oxygen. — Oxygen is a gas without color, taste, or 
odor, which constitutes about -^^^ of the earth, by weight, 
about f^^ of the water and about f^^^ of the air. 

2. Silicon. — Silicon is a solid, always found in combina- 
tion with some of the other elements, most frequently com- 
bined with oxygen ; as, sand, flint, and quartz. Silicon 
makes up about -^^^ of the earth. 

3. Aluminum. — Aluminum is a light, tough, metal. Com- 
bined with oxygen and silicon, it is an ingredient of the 
different kinds of clay. 

4. Iron. — Iron, a tough, whitish metal, is another im- 
portant element. Iron and Aluminum, each, make up 
about ^1^ of the earth. 

5. Calcium. — Calcium is a light, yellowish metal, which 
is the basis of limestone rocks, forming j|^ of the earth. 

6. Magnesium. — Magnesium is a silver-white metal which - 
burns readily with a brilliant flame. It is found in lime- 
stone, steatite, and meerschaum clay. 

7. Sodium and Chlorine. — Sodium is a soft, white metal 
best known, when combined with oxygen, as soda, or with 
chlorine, as salt. Chlorine is a poisonous, greenish yellow gas. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 11 

8. Potassium. — Potassium is also a soft, white metal, best 
known, in its compounds with oxygen, as potassa, or salt- 
petere. Potassium, sodium, and magnesium, each constitute 
about j^^ of the earth. 

9. Carbon. — Carbon is a solid, found nearly pure in the 
diamond and in charcoal. It unites with oxygen, forming 
carbonic acid, a heavy, poisonous gas ; and is also an im- 
portant ingredient in the structure of all organized matter. 

10. Nitrogen. — Nitrogen is a gas, without color, taste, or 
odoi*, which makes up -^^^J of the weight of the air, and is an 
important ingredient in all animal and vegetable structures. 

11. Hydrogen. — Hydrogen is an invisible gas which con- 
stitutes about i of the weight of water, and is found abund- 
antly in plants and animals. It is one of the lightest sub- 
stances known. 

12. Sulphur. — Sulphur is a bright yellow solid, found 
in volcanic regions. It combines with nearly all the metals, 
and with oxygen forms an important acid, while combined 
with hydrogen it gives the unpleasant odor of stale eggs. 

§ 37. Compound Bodies. — Nearly all the objects around 
us are compound bodies, made up of two or more elements ; 
as, glass, wood, water, sugar, salt, etc. Salt is composed of 
sodium and chlorine. If we divide salt till a piece contains 
just one particle of sodium and one of chlorine, we call the 
piece of salt a molecule, and the particles of sodium and 
chlorine atoms. 

§ 38. Molecules and Atoms. — Molecules are the smallest 
divisions we can make of a compound body without changing 
its nature, while atoms are the smallest divisions we can make 
of simple or elementary bodies, as iron or silver. A single 
atom or a group of atoms constitutes the molecule of ele- 
mentary bodies. 

ATTEACTION. 

§ 39. Attraction. — Force is necessary to break the sugar 
or salt, to split wood or tear leather, hence there must be 
some force holding the molecules of these objects together ; 
paint clings to the wall, varnish to the wood, iron is drawn 
toward the magnet, pieces of wood or cork placed on the water 
in a bowl or tub will be drawn to the sides of the bowl or tub, 



12 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

a ball thrown from the hand is drawn to the earth. From 
these experiments we may learn that there is a force which 
holds together the molecules of bodies and tends to draw 
bodies toward one another. Attraction is the force which 
tends to draw all matter together about a common center. 

§ 40. Kinds op Attraction. — The different ways in which 
attraction manifests itself are called different kinds of attrac- 
tion; as, chemical attraction, cohesive attraction, etc. 

1. Chemical Attraction. — Chemical attraction is that 
form of attraction which draws the atoms of different ele- 
ments into molecules of compound bodies; as, the atoms of 
oxygen and carbon are drawn into molecules of carbonic 
acid. Chemical attraction also brings together molecules of 
simple compound bodies into molecules of more complex 
bodies; as, molecules of calcium oxide and of carbonic acid 
are combined into molecules of common limestone. 

2. Cohesive Attraction. — Cohesive attraction is that 
form of attraction which holds the molecules of compound 
bodies together. Cohesive attraction enables a body to resist 
stretching, bending, twisting, etc. 

3. Adhesive Attraction. — Adhesive attraction is that 
form of attraction which holds together the molecules of 
different bodies ; as, paint to wood. It is most marked when 
one body is a liquid and the other a solid. 

4. Capillary Force. — Capillary force is a form of adhe- 
sive attraction, which causes liquids to rise along the sides of 
solids partly immersed in them. It causes liquids to rise in 
tubes, to soak into wood, bricks, leather, etc., it raises the oil 
through the lamp wick, and by it the blotter absorbs the ink. 
Three or four pieces of glass tubing of different sizes placed 
in a glass of water show that the water rises highest in the 
smallest tube. Numerous experiments show that the hight 
to which the liquid will rise in tubes is inversely proportional 
to the diameter of the tubes. 

5. Magnetic Attraction. — Magnetic attraction acts be- 
tween a magnet or lodestone and iron, drawing the bodies 
toward each other and causing them to assume some par- 
ticular position in reference to each other. The magnetic 
attraction of the earth causes the compass needle to point 
toward the north. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 13 

6. Electrical Attraction. — If a warm, dry, glass chim- 
ney is rubbed vigorously with a piece of silk and then 
brought near small pieces of paper, the paper will be drawn 
toward the chimney. This experiment illustrates electrical 
attraction, which is so prominent in thunder storms. Chem- 
ical, cohesive, and adhesive attractions act only through very 
small distances, while electrical, and magnetic attractions act 
through much greater distances. 

§ 41. GrRAViTATiON. — Gravitation or gravity is that form 
of atti-action which acts throughout any distance, great or 
small, and between bodies of any kind of matter. It is that 
force which tends to draw all bodies toward a common cen- 
ter. G-ravit'y holds buildings, animals, and other objects 
firmly to the earth ; it holds the earth in its path around the 
sun, and controls the forms and motions of all the heavenly 
bodies. 

1. Center of Gravity. — Each body has its center of 
gravity. It is that point in a body which if supported the 
whole body will be supported at rest. 

2. Laws of Gravity. — The force of gravity varies in 
accordance with two laws : a. It varies as the quantity of 
matter in the bodies exerting the force. The more matter 
the more force. If two bodies containing different amounts 
of matter are attracting each other, the greater mass exerts 
the same force on the smaller that the smaller mass exerts 
on the greater. Illustration : The falling apple draws the 
earth with the same force that the eai'th draws the apple, 
b. It decreases as the square of the distance between the 
bodies exerting the force increases. Illustration : Two 
bodies, A and B, of equal mass, are attracting a third 
body C. A is distant 4 feet and B 7 feet from C. What 
is the relative force exerted by each of the bodies on C ? 

(A)- 4 ^-(C)-^ -7 (B). 

The distances are as 4 to 7; distances inverted and squared 
are as 49 to 16. Experiments show that when A exerts 49 
units of force B only exerts 16. In this case A and B rep- 
resent units of mass, but if A should represent 5 units and B 
10 units of mass, then the relative force exerted would be 
as 49 X 5 = 245 to 16 X 10 = 160. Distance is measured 
from the center of gravity in each case. 



14 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

3. Weight. — Gravity causes objects to press towards the 
•center of the earth ; the more matter, the more pressure. 
Weight is the measure of this downward pressure of bodies. 
Weight equals mass multiplied by the force of gravity. W = M 
X G or M X Gr = W. All bodies, whether solid, liquid or 
gaseous press downward and have weight. 

§ 42. Pores. — In a solid cohesion holds the molecules so 
firmly together that they can not move freely among them- 
selves, yet they do not touch one another. 

Water soaking into leather, wood, brick, or stones shows 
that there are spaces between the molecules. These spaces 
are called _pores, and matter is said to be porous. 

§ 43. Compressibility. — That matter is porous is shown 
by the fact that all bodies can be niade smaller by pressure. 
That property ot matter which allows a body to occupy less 
space when subjected to pressure is compressibility. 

§ 44. Density. — After a body has been compressed the 
molecules are closer together, and the same mass occupies 
less space, and is more dense than before. Bodies are more 
or less dense, according to the amount of matter contained in 
a given space, as compared with some body taken as a stand- 
ard. Pure water is the standa^-d of comparison for solids 
and liquids, while air is the standard for gases. 

§ 45. Remarks. — Porosity, compressibility, and density 
can be illustrated with a sponge. 

Hardness, toughness, tenacity, ductility, and malleability 
are other interesting properties of matter depending mainly 
on the force of cohesion. 

§ 46. Crystallization. — In many cases the molecules 
arrange themselves into some definite form. Such regular- 
shaped bodies are crystals, and the process of their formation 
is crystallization. 

Careful examination shows that nearly all mineral bodies 
have a crystalline form ; as, quartz, iron, marble, ores of 
lead, copper, zinc, and many others. 

Attraction tends to draw all matter toward a common 
center, and if it were the only force we should expect to find 
all matter in one mass, and at I'est. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 15 

Matter exists in many separate masses and many of them 
are in rapid motion. What has interfered or is interfering 
with the action of attraction ? 

HEAT. 

§ 47. Theory of Heat, — Matter is supposed to be made 
up of molecules which do not touch each other ; these mole- 
cules are supposed to have a vibratory motion ; this motion is 
heat, the more rapid the motion the more intense the heat, 
the less rapid, the less intense the heat. 

§ 48. Sources of Heat. — The principal sources of heat 
are: 1. The heavenly bodies; 2. Mechanical action; 3. 
Chemical action. 

1. The heavenly bodies. — The sun, stars, planets, and other 
heavenly bodies are constantly sending us heat, the sun 
sending more than all others. 

2. Mechanical action. — a. Friction, or the rubbing of two 
objects together, as the hands or two pieces of wood, puts 
their molecules in more rapid motion, and is a source of heat. 
b. Percussion, as the driving of a nail, or the shaping of iron 
with a hammer puts the molecules of the nail, iron, and ham- 
mer in more rapid motion, and is a source of heat. c. Pres- 
sure will do the same, as shown by the increased heat of a 
piece of wood which has been rapidly clamped in a vise. 

3. Chemical action. — The clashing of the atoms as they 
rush together under the influence of chemical attraction is 
an important source of heat. The burning of coal, wood, or 
oil are illustrations. The oxygen uniting with the carbon in 
each case is the cause of the heat. Fermentation, decay, 
and the vital processes in the plant and animal are illustra- 
tions of heat by chemical action. 

§ 49. Effects of Heat. — The following illustrations and 
experiments will aid us in gaining an idea of the effects of 
heat: 

a. The blacksmith builds a fire under the tire of a wheel, 
and it not only gets hot but becomes too large for the wheel, 
he then pours water on the tire and it contracts so as to fit 
the wheel closely. 



16 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

b. Fill a test tube or small flask with water and close it 
with a cork through which is a small glass tube, then apply 
heat to the flask, and the water not only becomes warm, but 
rises in the tube ; remove the heat, the water cools and sinks 
in the tube. Fill a kettle nearly full of water and the water 
becomes too large for the kettle before it is hot enough to 
boil. 

c. Empty the water from the flask used in the last experi- 
ment, re-cork it, place the free end of the glass tube under 
water, and apply heat to the flask; the air becomes warm, 
and the bubbles formed in the water show that the air is 
being forced out of the tube through the water; remove the 
heat, the air cools, no more bubbles are formed, but the 
water rises in the tube showing that the air has contracted. 
If a fire is built in a stove the air in it soon becomes warm 
and too large for the stove. Thus we may learn that heat 
causes iron, water, and air to become warm and to expand^ 
and that they become cold and contract when the heat is 
removed. Numerous experiments on many substances show 
that heat warms and expands nearly all substances, while 
the absence of heat allows them to cool and contract. 

2. Heat Determines the Condition op Matter. — If heat 
enough is applied to the solids, phosphorus, mercury, or zinc 
they expand into liquids, and if the heat is continued the 
liquids expand into gases; remove heat and the gases 
become liquids, and the liquids solids again. The condensa- 
tions of water-vapor into dew or cloud, rain and ice is a 
familiar illustration of the eftect of removing heat from 
gases. Experiments show that the expansion of a body by 
heat is due not to the expansion of the molecules but to the 
separation of the molecules. 

§ 50. Comparison op the Effects of Attraction and 
Heat. — Attraction tends to bring all molecules to rest in one 
solid body, while heat or repulsion tends to make all matter a 
gas, to put each molecule at rest as far as possible from its 
fellows. The one acts toward a common center, while the 
other acts from such a center. Thus we learn that whether 
a body is at rest or in motion^ whether it is solid, liquid, or 
gaseous, depends on the relative intensity of these two 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 17 

opposing forces. It is also evident that no plant or animal 
could exist, as we know them, without this constant struggle 
between attraction and repulsion. 

§ 51. Temperature. — Temperature is the warmth or 
intensity of heat in a body as compared with some standard. 
When heat is ajsplied to a body one part is used in expanding 
the body and is lost as heat, while the other portion of the 
heat is used in raising the temperature of the body, and is 
heat still. When the molecules of a gas come together, under 
the force of attraction, into liquids and solids again, as much 
heat is generated as was used to make the solid a vapor; but 
it is not the same heat. 

§ 52. Measurement op Temperature. — We can tell by 
the touch that one body is warmer than another, if the dif- 
ference is considerable ; but the touch is not very accurate, 
and an instrument called a thermometer, or heat-measurer, has 
been devised, by means of which tjie temperature of bodies 
can be determined with accuracy. 

§ 53. Principle op the Thermometer. — The thermome- 
ter measures heat on the principle that a certain intensity of 
heat causes a definite amount of expansion, and that a defi- 
nite amount of contraction follows a definite diminution of 
the intensity of heat. 

§ 54. Material Used for a Thermometer. — Some 
liquid must be used, as solids do not expand enough, and 
gases expand too much for use in ordinary cases. Of liquids 
mercury is used: 1. Because it expands and contracts more 
uniformly; 2. Because it is a liquid through a wide range 
of temperature; 3. Because it expands enough and not too 
much. In order that the expansion maj^ be seen, the mercury 
is enclosed in a glass tube; and here again it is superior to 
other liquids, as it does not adhere to the glass. 

§ 55. Construction op a Thermometer. — Take a fine 
glass tube of uniform diameter with a bulb at one end ; fill 
the bulb and tube with mercury, at a temperature as high as 
any which the thermometer is designed to measure, then 
close the tube air tight. To make the scale, place the tube 
in a mixture of snow and. water,and mark the point at which 
the surface of the mercury stands 32° ; then put the tube in 
boiling water, and mark the point at which the surface of the 
2 



18 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

mercury stands 212° ; then divide the space between 32° and 
212° into 180 equal parts and call them degrees. Below 32° 
and above 212° make divisions of the same length. Below 0° 
the degrees should be marked — 1° — 2°, etc. The thermom- 
eter thus made is the common Fahrenheit Thermometer. 

§ 56. Boiling Point and Freezing Point. — 32° is called 
freezing point and 212° boiling point. At 32° water becomes 
ice, a solid. Other substances become solid at different tem- 
peratures according to their nature, or the amount of cohesive 
force between their molecules. The point at which a solid 
changes to a liquid is called its melting point. Water, or 
even ice, is slowly changing to gas at any temperature, but 
at 212° the change is rapid. Other liquids pass into a gaseous 
form at different temperatures according to the force of 
cohesion which the heat must overcome. Any circumstance 
which aids cohesion, as, adhesion to the sides of the vessel, 
or pressure on the liquid, necessitates more intense heat to 
cause the change of the liquid to a gas. Water boils at a 
temperature much below 212° when a portion of the pres- 
sure of the air is removed from it. Common alcohol boils at 
a temperature of 173°. 

§ 57. To Measure vert High or very Low Tempera- 
tures. — Mercury becomes a solid at — 39°, and a gas at about 
660°. To indicate temperatures above 660°, some solid sub- 
stance as iron or platinum is used as a thermometer, called 
sometimes a. pyrometer, or fire-measurer. To indicate temper- 
ature below — 39°, an alcohol thermometer is used. 

§ 58. Radiation op Heat. — Radiation is the sending of 
heat in straight lines, in all directions from its source. The 
body sending is a radiator, the act of sending is radiation, 
while the thing sent is radiant heat. All bodies, however 
cold, are supposed to contain heat, and to be radiators. 

§ 59. How DOES Heat go by Radiation ? — An imponder- 
able ether is supposed to fill the pores of "all material bodies, 
and to reach out in every direction filling all space to the 
farthest bounds of the universe. The vibrating molecules 
of the heated body cause waves in this ether, which, extend- 
ing out in every direction, have the form of spherical shells, 
which continually increase in diameter but diminish in 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 19 

thickness. The molecules of every body met by these waves 
are made to vibrate faster, and the heat of the body becomes 
more intense. Illustration : If a stone be thrown into the 
center of a small pond of water it will cause circular waves, 
which increase in diameter and diminish in elevation till 
they reach the shore, giving motion to every object they 
meet. The impulse that moved the object came from mole- 
cule to molecule of the water in a straight line from the 
center to the object. Thus heat comes in straight lines from 
molecule to molecule of ether, till the object is reached. 
Think a line of ether molecules from the sun to some object. 
The sun forces No. 1 toward No. 2 ; No. 1 forces 2 toward 3 
and flies back ; 2 forces 3 toward 4 and flies back toward ]» 
and so on till ail the particles of the whole line are flying 
forward and backward, and have increased the motion of the 
molecules of the object, making its heat more intense. 

§ 60. Eays of Heat and Light. — A line of vibrating 
molecules is called a ray of heat, and if the vibrations be 
rapid and ample enough, it is a ray of light also. A number 
of parallel ra} s of light or heat make a beam of light or heat. 

These vibrations are so rapid that heat and light move at 
the rate of about 192,000 miles in a second. 

§ 61. The Intensity of Heat Eadiated. — The intensity 
of the heat which a body can radiate depends on the intensity 
of the heat, in the bod}^ and on the surface of the body. The 
more intense the heat of the body, the more intense the heat 
it radiates, and the rougher the surface of the body, the more 
intense the heat radiated, and the more rapidly the heat is 
radiated. Tea or coffee will keej) hot longer in polished pots 
than in rough ones, as bodies with rough surfaces radiate 
heat more rapidly than those having polished surfaces. 

§ 62. The Intensity of Heat Eeceived. — The intensity 
and amount of heat one body may receive from another 
depends: 1. On the amount and intensity of heat in the 
source; 2. On the size of the receiving body; the larger the 
body the more heat rays it will receive ; 3. On the distance 
between the two bodies ; the greater the distance the less the 
heat; 4. On the directness of the rays received; the more 
direct the rays, the more heat they give to a body. The 
direction of the rays is modified by the form and position of 



20 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

a body. Illustration : if a cube is receiving heat the rays 
are direct or oblique according to its position; while in the 
case of a sphere large enough to meet the same number of 
rays received by the cube, only one ray could be perpen- 
dicular to its surface whatever the position of the body, all 
others being oblique. The cube might receive more or less 
than the sphere. 

§63. Distribution op Heat. — Form, position, and motions, 
all modify the distribution of heat over the surface of a body. 
This, and the directness of the rays, can easily be shown by 
placing a cube and a sphere in different positions before a 
light, giving the bodies motion in the different positions. 

§ 64. Eeflection of Heat. — Eefiection is the throwing 
back ot heat from the surface of a body. Bodies having a 
smooth sui'face are good reflectors. Dense bodies, as metals 
are capable of a smooth surface and may be good reflectors. 
Thus the surface of a body modifies the amount of heat it 
may receive, if the surface is smooth, much of the heat will 
be thrown off and not enter the body, but if the surface is 
rough it may enter the body. 

§ 65. Absorption of Heat. — Absorption is the process by 
which a body takes something into itself. Bodies with rough 
surfaces are not good reflectors ; they absorb more or less of 
the heat which falls on their surfaces. The outside molecules, 
warmed by radiation from the sun or some other body, 
radiate heat to those next them, and so on till every molecule 
has been influenced. The nearer the molecules the more 
heat they can radiate to each other; hence dense bodies with 
rough surfaces are good absorbers. 

§ 66. Diathermancy. — Diathermancy is the property 
which some bodies have of allowing heat to pass through 
them, without much increase of their own temperature. 
Bodies that transmit heat are diathermic 'bodies; as, rock-. 
salt, glass, air, and others. Heat from the sun passing 
through the air and a pane of glass, warms the hand or 
window-sill more than it does the air or glass. 

Remarks and Illustrations. — Thus radiant heat falling on a 
body may be reflected, absorbed, or transmitted. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 21 

The land is a good absorber, but a poor reflector; the water 
is a good reflector, but a poor absorber; the land is a good 
radiator, the water a poor radiator. 

§ 67. Conduction of Heat. — Conduction is the transfer 
of heat from one body to another without an apparent mo- 
tion of the carrying body. Illustration : If one end of an 
iron rod is placed in a fire, the fire radiates heat to the outside 
molecules of the rod, these radiate to those next to them and 
so on, till the far end of the rod is hot and is radiating heat 
to surrounding objects. In this case there has been no move- 
ment that could be detected except as heat. Silver, copper, 
iron, and other dense bodies are good conductors of heat. 

§ 68. Convection. — Convection is the process of transfer- 
ring heat from one body to another, in which thei-e is a sen- 
sible movement of the transferring body. Fill a glass tube 
or flask with dirty water and apply heat to the bottom, and 
soon two currents may be seen in the water, the one upward, 
the other downward. The sense of touch shows that the 
upward current is warmer. The water next the bottom, 
warmed by radiation, expands and becomes less dense than 
the colder water toward the top. The more dense goes down 
crowding the less dense upward, and we have two currents. 
As the warm water goes up, it radiates heat received at the 
bottom to particles near the top. This process of conveying 
heat is called convection. If we had experimented with air 
we should have attained similar results. Liquids and gases 
are heated mainly by convection. Neither liquids nor gases 
are good conductors or absorbers of heat. 

LIQUIDS. 

§ 69. Elasticity. — Elasticity is that property of matter 
by which it resumes its original form after compression or 
stretching. 

Liquids are said to be perfectly elastic, since they return 
to their original form, after compression, with a force equal 
to the compressing force. We have found that there are two 
forces continually acting on the molecules of bodies. What 
is their action in the case of elasticity ? If a body is com- 
pressed the repulsive force is partially overcome ; but when 



22 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

the pressure is removed the repulsive force causes the body 
to assume its original form. So if a body is stretched the at- 
tractive force is partially overcome, and the body changes 
form; but when the stretching force is removed attraction 
causes the body to assume its original form. 

§ 70. Mobility. — Mobility is that property which allows 
the molecules of bodies to move freely among themselves. 
This property is peculiar to liquids and gases. In solids the 
cohesive force is so strong that the particles are not free to 
move among themselves, but in liquids the two forces are 
nearly equal, and the molecules are free to move. 

Experiment : To show that cohesion is stronger than re- 
pulsion in liquids, place the bottom of a tumbler on the sur- 
face of water, then lift it gently and the water will be seen 
to stretch up toward the tumbler a little way ; so if you let 
water drip from the finger the drops may be seen to stretch 
a little. 

Illustration : If small shot and water are thrown on the 
floor or table, each spreads out in the same manner, and we 
think that the molecules of water must have the same shape 
and the same freedom of motion that the shot have. 

§ 71. Pressure in all Directions. — Fill a pail or tub 
with water and the force necessary to lift the water proves 
that water presses downward; then if a hole is made in the 
side of the pail, the water will flow out showing that water 
presses sidewise. Take an empty pail with a hole in the 
bottom and push it down into a tub of water, the water rush- 
ing upward into the pail shows upward pressure ; push a 
cork down to the bottom of ajar of water and when released 
it is thrown up showing upward pressure. Take a common 
glass chimney, and a circular piece of tin with a string 
fastened to its center ; weight the tin with lead, drop the 
string through the chimney and pull the weighted tin tight 
against the bottom, then push it down into water and loosen - 
the string; the tin remains pressed firmly against the chim- 
ney, again showing upward pressure. 

§ 72. Cause op this Pressure. — Gravity evidently causes 
the downward pressure of liquids as well as of solids. As 
each molecule of a liquid is free to move, it can obey the action 
of gravity, each crowding downward by the action of gravity, 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 23 

the whole mass spreids out till each molecule is as near as 
possible to the center of the earth. Grravity causes and 
mobility allows the liquid to press out sidewise. 

Experiment : Fill a test tube or flask with water, and as it 
stands quietly on the table the surface of the water is level 
and the whole mass is quiet; but apply heat to the bottom 
and the water is soon in motion, a warm current going up, 
and a cool current going down. The heat caused the water 
at the bottom of the tube to expand, making it lighter, bulk 
for bulk, than the cold water above, gravity pulls down the 
heavy water which pushes up the lighter, causing two 
cui'rents. Thi^ experiment may help us to understand that 
gravity causes water to press upward. 

§ 73. Water Finds its Level.— When under the influ- 
ence of gravity each molecule of a liquid is as near the 
center of the earth as possible, and the surface of the liquid must 
be a curved surface, like the surface of a sphere. Such a 
surface is called a level surface. Every body of still water 
has such a surface, however irregular its outline may be. 
Solids can seek their level, but only liquids and gases can 
find their level, as they only have mobility. 

GASES. 

§ 74. Gases differ from liquids in that they are very com- 
pressible and expansible. That air is compressible may be 
shown by inverting a tumbler and pushing it down into 
water ; the water rises a little way in the glass showing that 
the air has been compressed. Or take a TJ shaped tube and 
fill it about half full of water, close one end with the thumb, 
and blow with short puffs in the other end. By this experi- 
ment compressibility, expansibility, and elasticity of air may 
be shown Expansibility was shown in §49. 

§ 75. Gases have Mobility and press in all direc- 
tions. — That air has mobility may be shown by pushing an 
inverted tumbler or bottle down into water and then turning 
it down sidewise; the air bubbles out through the water as the 
water flows into the bottle, showing mobility of both air and 
water. That air presses upward and sidewise may be shown 
by the following experiment : Fill a quinine or any broad 
mouthed bottle with water, cover it with a piece of paper. 



24 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

hold the paper firmly in its place and invert the bottle, re- 
move the hand and the pressure of the air holds the paper 
firmly in its place, so that it serves as a cork when the bottle 
is inverted or turned on its side, showing that the air presses 
upward and sidewise. That air presses downward may be 
shown by the following experiment : Push a tumbler down 
into the water sidewise till the water has forced out the air 
and filled the tumbler, then invert the tumbler and pull it 
nearly out of the water, and the tumbler is full of water 
still, the pressure of the air downward on the water out- 
side forces the water upward into the tumbler. 



MOTION. 



§ 76. Motion and Forces. — If force enough is applied to 
one side of a body it will put the body in motion. If such a 
force acts continually it is a constant force, but if it acts for a 
time, and then ceases, it is an impulsive force. 

§ 77. Terms Defined. — Motion varies, and to express the 
variations certain terms must be defined. Time means dura- 
tion. Unit of time means a measured portion of duration; as, 
a second, hour, day. Velocity means the distance passed 
over by a body, in a unit of time. 

§ 78. Kinds of Motion. — A body has uniform motion 
when it has equal velocity in successive units of time; as, a 
ship sailing ten miles an hour for eight hours. 

A body has accelerated motion when it has increasing 
velocity in successive units of time ; as, a ship sails 6 miles one 
hour, 8 the next, 10 the next, and so on. 

A body has retarded motion when it has decreasing velocity 
in successive units of time; as, a ship sails 10 miles one hour, 
8 the next, and 6 the next, and so on. 

§ 79. Effects of the Different For'ces. — One impulsive 
force acting alone on a body would cause uniform motion in 
a straight line. Two impulsive forces acting on a body at the 
same time from diflFerent directions would cause uniform 
motion in a straight line, but in a direction between the 
directions in which the forces act. In the Fig. let A represent 




LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 25 

a body, a force act- 
ing from G would 
send it to H, then 
a force acting on 
it from D would 

-^ '" send it to C, or if 

the force from Gr, and one from E, equal to the one from D, 
should act at the same time, the body would be sent to C as 
before, but along the line A C, as if acted on by a force from 
F. I'wo constant forces under the same conditions, and free 
to follow the body would cause accelerated motion in the same 
direction. A man rowing a boat across a rapid river is a 
good illustration. The man is one force, the current another, 
and the boat goes in a direction between that of the current 
and the rower. 

§ 80. Curvilinear Motion. — Two constant forces, one of 
which is fixed, acting on a body at the same time from differ- 
ent directions, will cause motion in a curved line. Or one 
fixed constant force and one impulsive force will cause motion 
in a curved line. The first case may be illustrated by an engine 
driven by steam over a circular track. The second by fasten- 
ing a string to a ball and swinging the ball around the head ; 
the string represents the fixed constant force, the muscles of 
the arm the impulsive force, 

GENERAL VIEW OF THE EARTH. 

We have learned many facts about matter and forces, and 
of the effects of force acting on matter, which will help us 
to understand more fully the earth, and the various activities 
connected with it. 

Before beginning a detailed study of the earth as it is at 
present, let us go back to the time when the world was 
young and trace, briefly, the history of its development from 
a fiery mist to its present condition. 

§ 81. Nebular Theory. — The sun, planets, moons, 
asteroids, some comets and meteors, constitute the solar sys- 
tem of which our earth is a part. It is supposed that all the 
matter of the solar system was once a body of burning gas. 
As this body radiated heat, cooled and contracted, rotary 



26 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

motion was generated. As the cooling and contracting went 
on, the rotation increased in rapidity till portions were thrown 
off the outside of the mass as water is thrown from a rapidly 
turning carriage wheel. Each of these bodies assumed a 
spherical form, rotated on an axis and revolved around the 
central mass. Some of these rotated so rapidly that bodies 
were thrown from them. Each of these secondary bodies 
assumed form and motions similar to those of its primary. 

§ 82. Solar System. — The sun, a sphere of molten liquid, 
is the center of the solar system. The planets, supposed 
formerly to have been parts of the sun, were thrown off in 
the following order: 1. Neptune with one secondary, or moo7i. 
2. Uranus with 4 moons. 3. Saturn with 8 moons and two 
or three broad rings. 4. Jupiter with 4 moons. 5. One of 
which the asteroids are supposed to be fragments. 6. Mars 
with two moons. 7. Earth with one moon. 8. Venus. 
9, Mercury, and perhaps a 10th, Vulcan. The form, motions; 
and relations of the planets, moons, and sun accord with the 
Nebular Theory. The Bj)ectroscope shows that there are great 
masses of burning gas in the heavens now, and that there 
are many elements in the sun which are common to the 
earth ; these facts help to substantiate the Nebular Theory. 
The earth. Mars, Venus and perhaps others have cooled so 
much that thick rocky crusts have been formed on them. 

§ 83. Geological History op the Earth. — In the rocky 
pages of the earth's crust we find the record of its history 
since that crust began to form. On the basis of the different 
kinds of life this history may be divided into seven periods 
or ages. 

1st. The Archaean or Beginning Age. Early in this age 
the crust, thin, flexible, and unable to sustain itself, became 
wrinkled and broken, as it followed the more rapidly con- 
tracting interior. At first the crust was so hot that all the 
water, mercury, many acids and other -substances formed 
dense vapors about the earth. As th'e crust .continued to 
cool these vapors began to condense and falling as rain, 
formed rivers and oceans of hot acid waters. The failing rain, 
the flowing rivers, and the waves of the. ocean broke down 
the more elevated portions of the drust, j)ulverized them, and 
spread them out over the ocean bed in assorted layers of 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 27 



sediments. As these eediraenta increased in thickness, 
pressure from above and heat from below changed them into 
granite, gneiss, quartzite, slates, sandstones, limestones, and 
other kinds of rocks, composed mainly of oxygen, silicon, 
aluminum, calcium, and iron with some potassium and 
sodium. These early rocks are so extensive that they cover 
completely the original crust. 

These rocks at first were in horizontal layers, but during 
subsequent changes in the crust, they were so folded and up- 
turned, that they may be found inclined at almost any angle 
from a horizontal. 

Life. The condensation of vapors, and the settling of 
sediments fitted the air and the water for the lower forms of 
plant and animal life, as seaweeds, diatoms, and fungi, of 
plants and the protozoans of animal life. The vast deposits 
of iron among these early rocks, as at Lake Superior and in 
Missouri, indicate that plant life must have been very abund- 
ant, though low in type. 

2d. The Age of Mollusks. During the changes of the first 
age the air and water became fitted for higher forms of life 
both vegetable and animal. Among plants sea weeds still 
but of a higher type, but among animals were crinoids, 
corals, trilobites and worms, but most abundant were 
mollusks, soft bodied animals like oysters and clams. The 
warm, shallow seas must have swarmed with this kind of 
life, since the remains of their shells formed vast beds of 
limestone, thousands of feet in thickness. 

The life of this age, taking carbonic acid from the air and 
lime from the water for their shells, fitted the air and the 
water for the higher forms of life which appeared during ; 

3d. The Age of Fishes. The crinoids, mollusks, and trilo- 
bites of the 2d age were abundant in the 3d, but in addition 
gigantic fishes appeared in the sea, while on the land the 
first insects and probably the first land-plants made their 
appearance. 

4th. The Age of Coal Plants. The forms of life which ap- 
peared during the third age, continued in this, and a few 
reptiles appeared ; but the age was characterized by its rank, 
luxuriant vegetation. The vegetation consisted of the lower 
forms of plant life, such as ferns and rushes, but they were of 



28 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

gigantic size. The air was warm, moist, and charged with 
carbonic acid; large tracts of land were covered with shallow, 
stagnant water, — conditions favorable to a rank growth of 
vegetation. The mosses, and leaves of larger plants, i^re- 
served from decay by the water, formed beds of peat. The 
crust settled, and ocean currents spread sediments of clay, 
sand, or limestone over the peat. The crust rose again, 
another bed of peat was formed, which in turn was covered 
with sand or clay, and so on, until in some instances as many 
as sixty or seventy alternate layers of peat, clay, sand, etc., 
were formed. The peat, saturated with water, and subjected 
to great heat and pressure, formed bituminous coal ; more 
heat and pressure changed the bituminous coal to anthracite 
coal. 

The thickness of the sediments deposited during this and 
the preceding ages was from five to nine miles. These sedi- 
ments seem to have been deposited in shallow water, the 
crust settling as the sediments thickened. 

5th. The Age of Reptiles. During the 4th age the plants 
gathered vast quantities of carbon from the air, which the 
ocean currents buried away in the crust, thus fitting the air 
for higher forms of life. The life of this age was characterized 
by huge crawling, swimming, flying reptiles. Besides these 
were some warm-blooded animals, and among plants cone- 
bearing trees, oaks, willows, palms, and many others like 
those common now. 

6th. The Age of Mammals. The huge reptiles of the 5th 
age were succeeded by huge mammals ; as, the mastodon, 
mammoth, elephant, Irish elk, bears, beavers, etc. Forests 
and other vegetation similar to those existing now. The 
wind, the rain and the ice have broken down the rock into 
fertile soil, which is covered with an abundant vegetation ; 
the forests and streams abound with useful animal life, the 
air and water are pure, everything fitted Jor the opening of; 

7th. The Age of Man. The work did not stop with the 
coming of man ; beds of coal and layers of rock are still 
being foi*med ; the crust is rising in some places and settling 
in others; old forms of animal and vegetable life are passing 
away, but no new ones are known to have appeared since 
man ; birds and insects and plants in greater variety and 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. "29 

number than ever before, but man is the characteristic life of 
this age. As an intellectual, industrial, moral, and social 
being, man has progressed from savagism, when he lived on 
the spontaneous products of his immediate locality, to a high 
degree of civilization in which the whole earth contributes 
to his comfort and happiness. Development. From the time 
of the fiery cloud till the present, the history of the earth 
and man has been the history of progress, of development 
from the simple to the more complex. Of the fact of devel- 
pment there is no doubt, but the method of this development 
is an unsettled question. Some philosophers suppose that the 
earth, as it is at present, has been developed from the fiery 
cloud without creative acts, others that a few plants and 
animals were created during the Archaean age, while others 
suppose creative acts have been numerous throughout the 
history of the earth. 

STUDY OF THE BAETH IN DETAIL. 

With a general view of the earth, and of the properties 
and phenomena of matter we may enter upon a more detailed 
study of the earth. As heat is so important a factor in 
all the activities of the earth we must consider carefully all 
those conditions which modify the distribution and intensity 
of the heat the earth receives from the sun, which is the 
principal source of heat for the earth. 

§ 84. Distance prom the Sun and Moon. — The distance 
of the earth from the sun is about 92 millions of miles, 
while its distance from the moon is only about 238,000 
miles. 

§ 85. Form op the Earth. — The earth is an oblate 
spheroid, or it is, in form, like a sphere slightly flattened on 
opposite sides, but the flattening is so slight that for prac- 
tical purposes it may be considered a sphere. That the earth 
is spherical maybe shown in several ways : 1. When the 
earth comes between the sun and the moon it casts a shadow 
on the moon, causing an eclipse. This shadow is alwaj^s 
circular; and since a sphere is the only body that under all 
circumstances casts a circular shadow, we infer that the earth 
is spherical. 2. The sensible horizon is the line where the 
earth and sky seem to meet; when our view is unobstructed 



30 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

this line is everywhere equidistant from us; it is the circum- 
ference of a circle. Our view enlarges equally in all directions 
as we ascend from any point on the surface of the earth. 
This could not be true if the earth were not spherical in 
form. 3. Several other proofs are given ; as the appearance 
of ships when leaving or coming into port; the elevation 
and depression of fetars as one goes north or south, etc. 

§ 86 Size of the Earth. — The long diameter of the 
earth is about 7,925.604 miles; the shortest diameter is about 
7,899.114 miles ; the long circumference is about 24,899.022 
miles, and the short circumference is about 24,857.5 miles. 
In round numbers the diameter is about 8,000 miles, and the 
circumference about 25,000 miles in length. 

§ 87. EoTATiON. — The earth rotates or turns on its short- 
est diameter. The diameter on which the earth rotates is its 
axis. The ends of the axis are the poles. 

§ 88 Fixed Directions. — The direction toward which the 
earth rotates is east; the direction from which it rotates is 
west. The direction of the axis is perpendicular to the direc- 
tion of rotation, and is north and south. The poles are 
named the north pole and the south pole. Midway between 
north and west is north-west, between north and east north- 
east, so south-east and south-west. Frequently only the 
initial letter is used to indicate the direction ; as, N. for north, 
or S. W. for south-west. 

§ 89. Finding Directions, — If you face the east the north 
pole is at your left hand, and the south pole at your right. 
2. The north star is nearly in the direction of the axis, and 
when it can be seen is frequently used as a point of reference 
in finding fixed directions. 

3. The Compass. —When other means fail an instrument, 
called a compass, is used to aid in finding fixed directions. 
The compass consists of a piece of magnetized steel, called a 
needle, supported on a pivot, so that it can turn freely in any 
direction, For protection, the needle, is usually enclosed 
in a circular brass box, which has a glass cover. The mag- 
netic attraction, between the earth and the needle, causes it 
to point nearly north and south. 

§ 90. The Solar Day. — The average time in which the 
earth makes one rotation with reference to the sun, is called 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 31 

the solar day. This day is divided into 24 hours, the hour 
into 60 minutes, the nainute into 60 seconds. 

§ 91. Day and Night. — As the earth is a spherical body, 
only one-half of its surface can be lighted by the sun at one 
time. 

At any place, that portion of the time of one rotation 
during which it is in the light, is called day ; and the time 
during which it is in darkness is called night. 

§ 92. The Day Circle. — The line which divides the light 
from the darkness is the circumference of a circle, called the 
day-circle. Owing to the motion of the earth from west to 
east^ this line seems to move from east to west. Owing to 
the motion of the earth from west to east, the sun seems to 
move from east to west. 

§ 93. Location op Places. — In the study of the earth it 
is often necessary to give the actual and relative position of 
different parts of the surface. To "do this easily we must 
have : 1. Fixed directions, as north, south, east, and west. 
2. A fixed unit of measure. 3. Fixed lines from which to 
measure. 

For the purpose of obtaining a fixed unit of measure, fixed 
lines from which to measure, and other lines to aid in loca- 
ting places, the earth is considered as divided by certain 
circles, each having a fixed relation to the axis. 

§ 94. The Equator. — The equator is a great circle of the 
earth, perpendicular to the axis. The equator divides the 
earth into northern and southern hemispheres. The circum- 
ference of the equator is the long circumference of the earth, 
and is th.Q fixed line from which to measure distance north and 
south; while a degree of this circumference is IhQ fixed unit of 
measure. 

§ 95. Meridians. — Meridians are half great circles 
perpendicular to the equator. There are an infinite 
number of meridians. Each meridian has two boundaries, 
a straight boundary and a curved boundary, thus: D, 
The straight boundary of each meridian is the axis^ while 
the curved boundary is one-half the short circumference of 
the earth. The curved boundary of any meridian may be 
used as a fixed line from which to measure distance east or 



32 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

"weHt. Nations frequently use the boundary of the meridian 
of their capital for such purpose, but. in maps of the world 
by common consent the curved boundary of the meridian of 
G-reenwich is used as such a fixed line. Meridians are so 
called because when the sun's rays fall vertically on a 
meridian, it is noon or mid-day for all places on that meridian. 

§ 96. GrLOBE AND Maps. — A globe is a spherical body, on 
whose surface is represented the surface of the earth, aiid so 
mounted that the rotation and position of the earth can be 
illustrated, A map is a flat surface, on which is represented 
the whole or a part of the earth's surface. A line drawn 
from left to right across a map may represent the equator; 
and lines drawn perpendicular to this one, from the top to the 
bottom of the map may represent meridians. Toward the 
top of the map is north, toward the right is east. On the 
globe the poles are represented by opposite points on the 
surface, and a line drawn from left to right around the globe 
midway between the points representing the poles, represents 
the equator, while lines connecting these points perpendicular 
to the line representing the equator, represent the meridians. 

§ 97. Meridians Designated. — The meridian of G-reen- 
wich is called the prime meridian, and is marked thus, (0). 
Meridians corresponding to each degree of the circumference 
of the equator, are numbered east and west from this merid- 
ian, from 1 to 180. The meridian 180 east, and the meridian 
180 west coincide, and, together with the prime meridian, 
form a meridian circle. The 20th meridian west and the 160th 
meridian east, together form a meridian circle which divides 
the earth into the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres. 

§ 98. Parallels. — The j)arallels are small circles of the 
earth, parallel to the equator, and are repi'esented on maps 
and globes by lines parallel to the one representing the 
equator. The terms equator, parallels, and meridians are fre- 
quently used when only the boundaries, ar lines representing 
the boundaries of these circles are referred to. 

§ 99. Parallels Designated. — The equator is sometimes 
cqWqA t\\Q prime parallel, ?if\& is marked thus, (0). Parallels 
corresponding to each degree in the boundary of a meridian, 
are numbered from 1 to 89, north and south of the equator. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 33 

The parallels decrease in size toward the j)oles, so that 90 
north and south are not parallels, but points, which coincide 
with the poles. 

§ 100. Latitude. — Latitude is distance north or south of 
the equator, measured in degrees, minutes and seconds of the 
circumferences of meridian circles. 

§ 101. Longitude. — Longitude is the distance east or west 
of the prime meridian, measured in degrees, minutes, and 
seconds of the circumferences of the equator and parallels. 

As the parallels decrease in size toward the poles, the de- 
grees of longitude decrease in length toward the poles. 

A degree of longitude on the equator is 69.16 miles. 

A degree of longitude on the 45th parallel is 48.982 miles. 

A degree of longitude on the 89th parallel is 1.211 miles. 

§ 102. Problems. — Mention two meridians that together 
form a meridian circle. What places have no latitude? 
What places have the greatest latitude ? What places have 
no longitude ? What places have the greatest longitude ? 
What is the difference between 14° and 40° N. Lat.? What 
is the difference between 18° E. Lon. and 22° W. Lon.? 
What is the difference between 25° N. Lat. and 15° S. Lat.? 

§ 103. Longitude and Time. — The sun appears to move 
around the earth, or over 360° of longitude in one day or 24 
hours, then it must move over 15° in one hour, over 15' of Ion. 
in one minute of time, and over 15" of longitude in one 
second of time. When it is noon at any place it must be 
afternoon for all places east, and before noon for all places 
west, of that place. Now if we know the difference of time 
between two places we can find the difference in longitude, 
and vice versa; if the difference in longitude is 80° the differ- 
ence in time must'be two hours; if the difference in time is 
3|^ hours the difference in longitude must be 52° and 30'. 

2. Problems. — It is noon at 68° W. Lon., what is the time 
at 88° W. Lon.? At 14° E. Lon. it is 2 p. m. at another place 
it is 11:30 A. m., what is the longitude of the latter place? 

§ 104. Eevolution. — The earth revolves around the sun 
from west to east in an elliptical path or orbit. The plane 
in which the orbit of the earth lies is called the ecliptic. 

3 



34 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

§ 105. The Year. — The time in which the earth makes 
one revolution around the sun is 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 
and 48 seconds. This time is called a year. The year is 
divided into 12 months of about 30 days each. 

§ 106. Position op the Earth. — The axis of the earth is 
declined from a perpendicular to the ecliptic at an angle of 
about 23° 27', and it always declines in the same dii'ection. 

§ 107. Causes op the Varying Lengths op the Solar 
Days. — The motion of the earth in rotation is uniform, but 
in revolution it sometimes moves faster than at others. 
This irregularity of motion, and the declination of the axis 
are the causes of the varying lengths of the solar days. The 
difference between the longest and the shortest solar day is 
30 minutes and 50 seconds. If June 14th of any year was an 
average solar day, then Feb. 11th was 14 m. 32 s. longer, while 
Nov. 2d was 16 m. 18 s. shorter than an average day. 

§ 108. Effects of Form, Motions, and Position of the 
Earth on the Distribution and Intensity of Heat. — The 
manner in which form, motions, and position modify the dis- 
tribution and the intensity of heat on the earth's surface can 
best be shown by several suppositions : 1. Suppose the axis of 
the earth perpendicular to the ecliptic and the earth at rest ; 
then one half of the surface of the earth would receive light 
and heat, while the other half would be dark and cold ; one 
point at the center would receive the rays of the sun perpen- 
dicularly, all others would receive them obliquely, and the 
farther the points from the center, the more oblique the rays ; 
the heat would be more intense at the center, diminishing in 
intensity in all directions. 2. Suppose the earth rotates; then 
the point of most intense heat must become the line of most 
intense heat, the heat diminishing in intensity both ways from 
this line, and the heat and light are distributed over the 
whole surface during one rotation. 3. Suppose the earth 
revolves around the sun ; the motion of "revolution will not 
appreciably change the above conditions. 4. Suppose the 
earth, with the motions of rotation and revolution, is de- 
clined 23° 27' from a perpendicular, and always in the same 
direction; then stveral interesting changes occur; the sun's 
i-ays fall perpendicularly on different parts of the earth's sur- 
face, the lengths of the days and nights are continually 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 35 

changing, and the intensity of heat at any given locality 
must vary greatly in different parts of the year. 

§ 109. DiSTBIBUTION OF LiGHT AND HeAT DuRING THE 

Year.— On the 20th of March the sun's rays fall perpendicu- 
larly on the circumference of the equator, and since one half 
of the earth's surface is lighted at one time, the sun's rays must 
fall obliquely on all places within 90° of this line, i. e., upon 
all places between the equator and the poles. 2. On the 21st of 
June the axis is declined toward the sun, and the sun's rays 
fall perpendicularly on a line 23° 27' noi'th of the equator, 
and obliquely on all places within 90° of this line, i. e., as 
far as 23° 27' beyond the north pole, and within 23° 27' of 
the south pole. On the 22d of September the sun's rays 
again fall perpendicularly upon the circumference of the 
equator, and obliquely on places north and south of the equa- 
tor, as on March 20th. On the 21st of December the axis 
is declined from the sun, and the stin's rays fall perpendicu- 
larly on a line 23° 27' south of the equator, and obliquely on 
all places within 90° each way from this line; i. e.. as far as 
23° 27' beyond the south pole, and within 23° 27' of the 
north pole. 

§ 110. The Tropics. — The tropics are parallels ; one, 
called the Tropic of Cancer, is 23° 27' north of the equator ; 
the other, called the Tropic of Capricorn, is 23° 27' south of 
the equator. The boundaries of the tropics mark the great- 
est distance, north and south of the equator, at which the 
sun's rays fall pex^pendicularly upon the earth. 

§ 111. The Polar Circles. — The polar circles are paral- 
lels; one, called the Arctic Circle, is Q&° 33' north of the 
equator, and 23° 27' from the north pole; the other, called 
the Antarctic Circle, is 66° 33' south of the equator, and 23° 
27' from the south pole. The boundaries of these circles 
mark the greatest distance to which the sun's rays reach be- 
yond, or recede from, the poles. 

§ 112. Zones. — The equator, the tropics, and the polar 
circles divide the surface of the earth into belts or zones, 
which, owing to their position, receive different amounts of 
heat during the year. 

1. Torrid Zones. — That belt between the tropics, 46° 54' 
wide, receives the sun's rays perpendicularly, is much hotter 



36 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

than the others, and is called the torrid region. That part 
north of the equator is the North Torrid Zone^ and that part 
south of the equator is the South Torrid Zone. 

2. Temperate Zones. On those belts lying between the 
tropics and the polar circles, the sun's rays fall obliquely, 
hence, they are not as warm as the torrid zones, and are 
called the temperate zones. The one between the Tropic of 
Cancer and the Arctic Circle is the North Temperate Zone; the 
one between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle 
is the South Temperate Zone. 

3. Frigid Zones On those belts lying between the polar 
circles and the poles, the sun's rays fall very obliquely^ and 
that for only half the year ; hence, they are colder than the 
temperate zones, and are called the frigid zones. The one 
north of the Arctic Circle is the North Frigid Zone., the one 
south of the Antarctic Circle is the South Frigid Zone. 

§ 113. Varying Length of Days and Nights. — When 
the sun's rays fall perpendicularly upon the equator, the day 
circle coincides with a meridian circle, and divides the 
equator, and each of the parallels, into equal parts; hence, 
the daj's and nights are equal in all parts of the earth. 

2. But when the sun's rays fall perpendicularly on either 
tropic, the day circle divides those parallels between the 
polar circles, into unequal portions ; hence, the days and 
nights are unequal in length, except at the equator. 

3. As the equator is a great circle, and the day circle is 
practically a great circle, they divide each other into equal 
parts at all times; hence, the days and nights at the equator 
are of uniform length during the year. At 41° 24' N. or S. 
latitude, the longest day is 15 hours, and the shortest 9 
hours. At 66° 32' N. or S. latitude, the longest day is 24 
hours. At the poles, the days and nights are each six months 
in length. 

Note. — If the teacher will take a circular piece of card- 
board, cut a hole in it so that it will just pass over a globe 
or ball on which the parallels are represented, place it so 
that it will represent the position of the day circle on June 
21st, the equal division of the equator, the unequal division 
of the parallels between the polar circles, and the non- 
division of the parallels within the polar circles will be 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 37 

evident, and the whole matter of the varying length of day 
and night in different portions of the earth at different times 
in the year, will be clearly understood. 

§ 114. Seasons. — On the 21st of June, the sun's rays fall 
perpendicularly on the Tropic of Cancer ; it is then summer 
and day in the North Frigid Zone ; summer, with long days 
and short nights in the North Temperate Zone; wet season, 
with nearly equal days and nights in the North Torrid 
Zone ; dry season, with nearly equal days and nights in the 
South Torrid Zone ; winter, with short days and long nights 
in the South Temperate Zone; winter and night in the 
South Frigid Zone 

On the 21st of December the sun's rays fall perpendicu- 
larly on the Tropic of Capricorn, and the above conditions 
are reversed. 

The temperate zones have spring and autumn, between 
their summer and winter. 

Note. — The location of the tropics and polar circles, the 
varying length of days and nights, and the changes of the 
seasons, depend upon the revolution of the earth around the 
sun, and the declination of the axis. 

The teacher should very carefully illustrate this with a 
globe, so that each pupil may clearly understand the relation 
of cause and effect as stated above, 

THE SUEFACE OF THE EARTH. 

The study of the form, position, and motions of the earth 
has given us only a general idea of the distribution of heat, 
while the study of the surface will help us to understand' 
many details and variations of this general idea, and to 
understand many other interesting facts about the earth. 

§ 115. The Land and Sea. — The surface of the earth's 
crust is not uniform, but consists of elevations and depres- 
sions ; the elevations we call land^ the larger depressions 
filled with water we call the sea. On globes and maps, the 
form of the land and sea, and their relative and actual 
position, should be represented by different colors ; the 
line separating the one from the other should be clear and 
distinct. 



38 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

§ 116. The Sea. — The sea occupies about three-fourths of 
the earth's surface. The surface of the sea is uniformly 
curved, and is called the sea-level. This level changes but 
slightly, and is used as a basis from which to measure the 
elevation of the land, and the depth of the sea. 

§ 117. Oceans and their Eelative Size. — For conve- 
nience of description the sea is divided into five oceans; 
the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Antarctic, and the 
Arctic. Dividing the water surface of the earth into one 
hundred equal parts, the Pacific Ocean eormprises fifty parts, 
the Atlantic twenty-five^ the Indian seventeen, the Antarctic 
five, the Arctic tJu'ee. 

§ 118. The Land. — The land is not all in one body, but is 
distributed into a great number of separate masses, varying 
greatly in size. The three larger masses are called continents 
named the Western, Eastern and South-eastern continents. 

§ 119. GrRAND Divisions. — The Western and Eastern con- 
tinents are naturally divided as follows : the Western into 
North America and South America; the Eastern into Europe, 
Asia, and Africa. The South-eastern is called Australia. 
These six bodies of land are called grand divisions. 

2. Relative size of the Grand Divisions. Dividing the 
land surface of the earth into one hundred equal parts, 
Asia comprises thirty-two parts, Africa twenty, North America 
sixteen, South America thirteen, Europe seven, and Australia 
six. 

Note. — The teacher should require the pupil to locate the 
grand divisions with reference to each other, and with refer- 
ence to the oceans ; to locate the oceans with reference to 
each other, and with reference to the grand divisions, and to 
locate both with reference to the hemispheres. 

§ 120, Islands. — The smaller masses of land are called 
islands; they comprise about six one-hundredths of the land. 

Islands are: 1. Continental, those situated near conti- 
nents ; as, the British Isles, the West Indies, and Madagascar. 
2. Oceanic, those situated in mid ocean ; as, the Sandwich 
Islands and St. Helena. Each of these classes is again 
divided into mountainous or high islands and coral or low 
islands. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. S^ 

§121. Coral Islands — Coral islands are built by the 
coral polyps, communities of animals, low in type, which 
make for themselves a frame-work of lime called " coral. ' 
They live in warm, shallow, salt-water, alongside continents 
or mountainous islands. Florida Eeefs, Barrier Reef, and 
the Laccadive Islands are the work of polyps living alongside 
continents ; while the Sandwich Islands, Caroline Islands, 
and many other groups are made up of mountainous islands 
surrounded by coral islands or reefs." 

Note. — Bes^ides the above named islands locate the follow- 
ing: 

Aleutian Isles, Japan Isles, 

Baffin Land, Kurile Isles, 

Borneo, Long Island, 

Bahama Isles, Madeira Isles, 

Balearic Isles, New Zealand, 

Ceylon, Nova Zembla, 

Cape Yerde Isles, New G-uinea, 

Comoro Isles, Philippine Islands, 

Caroline Isles, Saghalin, 

Candia^ Santa Barbara Isles, 

Falkland Isles, Sicily, 

Formosa, Sardinia, 

Friendly Isles, Sumatra, 

Greenland, Trinidad, 

Juan Fernandez, Vancouver Isle. 

LAND. 

In studying the land masses we must consider their hori- 
zontal shape, and their forms of relief. 

§ 122. Horizontal Shape — By horizontal shape is meant 
the length and breadth of the mass without reference to the 
elevation. This shape is determined by the coast line, an 
irregular line where the land and water meet. The irregu- 
larities of the coast line are caused by projections of the 
water into the land and of the land into the water. 

§ 123. Peninsulas and Capes — The larger projections 
from the land are called peninsulas ; as, the peninsulas of 
Italy, Arabia, and Florida. The smaller projections are 
called capes ; as. Cape Cod, Cape Comorin, and Cape Horn. 



40 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



A peninsula is tiBually more nearly surrounded by water 
than a cape. 
Note. — Locate the following : 

Peninsulas. York, Hatteras, 

Arabia, Yucatan. Horn, 

Alaska, Capes. Howe, 

Corea, Bon, Lopatka, 

California, Barrow, Land's End, 

Florida, Cod, Mendocino, 

Farther India, Comorin, Matapan, 

Italy, Catoche, Naturalist, 

India, Clear, Romania, 

Kamtschatka, Farewell, Sandy, 

Labrador, Finisterre, San Lucas, 

Nova Scotia, Good Hope, St. Roque, 

Spanish, Guardafui, The Naze. 

Scandinavian, Gallinas, 

§ 124. Bays, Gulfs, Seas, and Sounds. — The projec- 
tions from the water are called hays, gulfs, seas, or sounds; 
as, Hudson Bay, Persian Gulf, Baltic Sea, or Pamlico Sound. 
There is no well marked distinction between these different 
bodies of water, except that the sound is usually shallower 
than the others. 

Note. — Locate the following : 
Bays. Gulfs. Seas. 

BafiSn, Bothnia, Arabian, 

Biscay, Carpentaria, Adriatic, 

Delaware, California, Black, 

Fundy, Guayaquil, Baltic, 

Hudson, Genoa, China, 

Honduras. Mexican, Irish, 

Sounds. Persian, Japan, 

Albemarle, St. Lawrence, North, 

Norton's. Venezuela. Red. 

§ 125. Grand Divisions Compared. — The coast lines of 
Europe, Asia, and North America are very irregular, while 
the coast lines of the southern grand divisions are com- 
paratively regular. About oiie-fourth of Europe, and one- 
fifth of Asia and one-fourteenth of North America consist of 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 41 

peninsulas, while there are but few in the southern grand 
divisions. 

§ 126. Connecting Bodies of Water. — Connecting bodies 
of water are called straits or channels; as, Behring Strait, 
Bass, Dover, Davis, Florida, Gibraltar, Hudson, Magellan, and 
Sunda straits; as, Bristol Channel, Cattegat, English, and 
Mozambique channels. Locate these straits and channels. 

§ 127. Connecting Bodies of Land. — Connecting bodies 
of land are called isthmuses ; as, Isthmus of Suez, Isthmus of 
Panama. 

§ 128. Forms of Eeliep. — By forms of relief we mean 
the elevation of the land above the sea-level. Under forms 
of relief are included low plains, plateaus, and mountains. 

1 . Low Plains. — Low plains are broad tracts of land 
which have an elevation of less than 1,000 feet above the sea- 
level; as, the low plains in the northern part of Europe and 
Asia, and those along the coasts of Africa and Australia, and 
those in the central parts of North and South America. The 
surface of low plains is usually quite level, though moderate 
elevations sometimes occur. A low plain is bounded on one 
side by water, and on the other by a plateau. 

2. Plateau. — A plateau is a broad tract of land which has 
an elevation of more than 1,000 feet above the sea-level; as, 
the Colorado Plateau, the Plateau of Brazil, and the Plateau 
of Thibet. The surface of a plateau is more uneven than 
that of a low j)lain ; the elevations upon it are more 
numerous, and of greater hight. Plateaus vary greatly in 
elevation and extent; in elevation, from 1,000 to 15,000 feet, 
and in extent, from a few miles to many thousands of miles. 
A plateau is bounded by low plains and mountains, or by 
mountains alone. 

Note. — On globes and maps low plains and plateaus are 
represented by different colors or shading. 

§ 129, Mountains. — Mountains are narrow bodies of land 
having an elevation of more than 2,000 feet above the sea- 
level. 

They may be simply isolated, conical elevations ; as, Mount 
Katahdin, Mount Popocatepetl, and Mount Vesuvius ; but 
more frequently the mass is long and narrow, with many 
points reaching above the general level, when it is called a 



42 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

mountain chain ; as, the Blue Eidge, and the Carpathian 
Mountains. A number of mountain chains situated near 
each other form a mountain system; as, the Appalachian 
System, and the Alps. 

Narrow elevations less than 2,000 feet high are usually 
called hills. 

§ 130. Parts op a Mountain. — The parts of a mountain 
are : 1. The summit, or highest part, which may be broad 
and flat, or narrow and pointed. 2. The base, where the 
ascent commences, which may be sharp and well defined or 
it may be obscured by hills. 3. The slopes, or sides from the 
base to the summit, which may be steep or gradual. In 
studying a mountain each of these parts should be considered, 
and in addition, its location and elevation should be given. 

§ 131. Parts of a Mountain Chain. — The parts of a 
mountain chain are : 1. The crest or highest part, which is 
usually quite irregular. 2. The peaks, which are the points 
reaching above the general level of the chain. 3. The passes, 
which are depressions between the peaks. 4. The base. 5. 
The slopes. 

In studying a mountain chain each of these parts should 
be considered, and in addition, its location, direction of ex- 
tent, length, general elevation, elevation of peaks, and the 
character of its passes should be studied. 

§ 132. Mountain Systems. — Mountain systems vary 
greatly in elevation and extent. That mountain system of any 
grand division which has the greatest elevation and extent is 
called its primary system ; as, the Andes of South America ; 
the others are called secondary systems ; as, the mountains of 
Brazil, and of Guyana in South America. 

§ 133. Yalleys. — Valleys are depressions between the 
chains which make up a mountain system ; as, the Shenan- 
doah Yalley in North America, and the Ehone Yalley in Eu- 
rope. The term valley is sometimes applied to depressions 
between mountain systems ; as, the Mississippi Yalley. 

§ 134. YoLCANOES. — Yolcanoes are mountains or hills 
with basin-shaped depressions, or craters in their tops or 
sides. Leading from the craters toward the center of 
the earth, are passages through which are thrown out 
great masses of molten rock, called lava, red-hot stones, 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 43 

ashes, sand, smoke, gases, and in some instances great quan- 
tities of water. 

A large number of volcanoes depend for their form upon 
the character of the material thrown out by them; if mostly 
lava, the cone will be comparatively flat ; if mostly ashes 
and sand, it will be steeper. 

§ 135. Most isolated mountains are, or have been, volca- 
noes. Mt. Vesuvius, in Southern Italy, is one of the most 
noted volcanoes. Its first known eruption was in the year 
79 A. D. The ashes, lava, etc., thrown from it at this time 
buried the three cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Sta- 
biae. Since that time many eruptions of Yesuvius have 
occurred, the last in 1872 ; none, however, so destructive in 
their effects as the first. 

§ 136. Number and Location of Volcanoes. — It is esti- 
mated that there are from 300 to 400 active volcanoes, while 
a large number of once active volcanoes are now at rest. 

Most of the volcanoes are found along the sea-shore, and 
a large portion of these are found in a belt encircling the 
Pacific Ocean ; including the volcanoes of South America, 
North America, the Aleutian Islands, and the islands bor- 
dering the eastern portions of Asia and Australia. There 
are also volcanoes in Iceland, the West Indies, the Sandwich 
Islands, and some other localities. 

§ 137. Earthquakes. — Earthquakes are tremblings or 
wave-like vibrations of the earth's crust; sometimes the 
movement is very slight, at others very violent, causing 
great destruction of life and property. The earthquake which 
destroyed Lisbon in 1755, was one of the most destructive on 
record. More than 60,000 persons perished, and the surface 
disturbed was equal to four times the area of Europe. Several 
cities of South America have been swallowed up by the earth 
during earthquakes. Earthquakes cause great waves in the 
sea also. In 1868 an earthquake wave in the harbor of Arica, 
carried the U. S. steamer Wateree two miles inland. It is 
estimated that more than 13,000,000 persons have been 
destroyed by earthquakes. 

§ 138. Cause of Volcanoes and Earthquakes. — Earth- 
quakes are most common in volcanic regions, but no part of 



44 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



the surface is exempt from them. Volcanoes and earth- 
quakes are probably the results of the same force ; from their 
location near the ocean, they are supposed to be caused by 
the force of steam, formed from water coming in contact with 
molten matter within the crust. 

Note. — Mountains usually stand on plateaus, and are 
represented on maps and globes by short straight or curved 
lines, so arranged on the color representing plateaus as to 
give some idea of the relative elevation of the different 
mountains. 

Locate the following Mountains, Peaks, and Plateaus : 

Mountains. 
Alps, Kong, Hecla, 

Altai, Kuen-Lun, Mauna-Loa, 

Alleghany, Liverpool, Orizaba, 

Andes, Pindus, Pikes Peak, 

Apennine, Pyrenees, Shasta, 

Atlas, Rocky, St. Elias, 

Balkan, Sierra Madre, Washington. 

Blue Ridge, Sierra Nevada, Plateaus. 

Cantabrian, Taurus, Of Arabia, 

Carpathian, Ural. Brazil, 

Caucasus, Peaks or Mounts. Colorado, 

Cascade Range, Aconcagua, Guyana, 

Cumberland, Ararat, Great Basin, 

Elburz, Blanc, Gobi, 

Hindoo Koosh, Brown, Iran, 

Himalaya, Cotopaxi, Thibet. 

Etna, 



CLIMATE. 

§ 139. Climate is the condition of the air as regards tem- 
perature, moisture, and purity. 

§ 140. The Air — The air is an invisible.gas, composed of, 
the two gases, oxygen and nitrogen. In every hundred parts 
of ordinary air there are by weight about seventy-nine parts 
of nitrogen and twenty-one of oxygen. Besides these two 
gases, small and varying quantities of water-vapor, carbonic 
acid, ammonia, nitric acid, and many other substances are 
found diffused throughout the air. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



45 



§ 141. Temperature. — The temperature of the air de- 
pends mainly on the temj^erature of the earth's surfiace. The 
air is heated partly by heat radiated from the sun, and 
partly by heat radiated and reflected from the earth, but 
mainly by convection from the earth. 

§ 142. Mean Temperatures. — Mean daily temperature is 
the average of observations made ever}^ hour during the day. 
About the same result may be obtained from the average of 
observations taken at 6 a. m. and 2 and 9 p. m., or at 10 a. m. 
and at 10 p. m. Monthly mean temperature is the average of 
daily mean temperatures for a month, and mean annual tem- 
perature is the average of daily mean temperatiires for a 
year. The mean annual temperature does not vary much 
from year to year. 

§ 14B. Temperature Modified. — We have already gained 
a general idea of temperature, but the air and surface so 
modify the intensity and distribiution of heat, that they 
merit special study. 

Surface, The land is dense and rough; hence it is a good 
absorber and radiator. When the days are longer than the 
nights, the land absorbs more heat than it radiates, and 
becomes hotter day by day; but when the nights are longer, 
the land radiates more than it absorbs, and becomes colder 
night by night. The water has a smooth surface, and is a 
good reflector, but a poor radiator and a jjoor absorber; hence 
the water does not become as warm as the land in summer, 
nor as cold as the land in winter. 

In winter the water tends to make the land near it warmer, 
but in summer it tends to make it cooler than otherwise. 

§ 144. Tropical and Arctic Climates Compared. — The 
climate or temperature of the Tropics is more uniform than 
that of the Arctic regions. A place in Southern Asia, lati- 
tude 5° 38' N., has a range of only 14° from coldest to 
hottest temperature, and a place in the West Indies, 13° N., 
has the same range, while in Northern Asia, a place in 62° IST. 
L , has a range of 163° during the year, and a place in N. 
America of about the same latitude, has a range of 151°. 
Near the equator, the days and nights are about equal in 
length throughout the year, and absorption and radiation 
are about eqaal, and the temperature is quite uniform ; 



46 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

but farther toward the poles the length of the days and 
nights varies greatly, and the relation between absorption 
and radiation varies more than near the equator ; hence the 
greater range of temperature. 

§ 145. Oceanic and Continental Climates Compared. — 
The climate along the ocean is usually more uniform than 
that of places far inland. San Francisco has a yearly range 
of only 50°, while St. Louis, in about the same latitude, has a 
range of 133°. In Southern England, the difference between 
the lowest and the highest monthly mean is only about 20°; 
while in Eastern Europe, in the same latitude the difference 
is from 75° to 85°. The influence of the water is the main 
cause of this difference between oceanic and continental 
climates. 

§ 146. Elevations Modify the Temperature. — As the 
earth is the main source of heat for the air, temperature 
must decrease from the general surface upward. Experi- 
ments show that the temperature does decrease about 1° for 
each 315 feet of elevation. 

In the same latitude, mountains and high plateaus have a 
lower mean temperature than the general surface of the earth. 

§ 147. Extreme and Average Temperature. — The entire 
range of temperature anywhere observed is from — 76° to 
133°, being a range of 209°. 

The average temperature of the northern hemisphere is 
about 60°, while that of the southern is about 56°; and the 
mean temperature of the earth is estimated at about 58°. 

§ 148. The Air Modifies the Intensity of Heat. — It 
is estimated that the air absorbs about one-third of the heat 
sent from the sun to the earth. The greater part of this 
heat is absorbed by the water vapor, as dry air is nearly 
diathermic. If the air did not absorb this heat, the temper- 
ature of the Torrid zones and of the summers of the other 
zones would destroy all such life as exists at present. The 
air absorbs even a larger per cent, of th6 heat ra,diated from 
the earth, and prevents the surface from cowling as much or 
as rapidly as it would if the air were diathermic. If the 
air were diatjiermic the nights and winters would be in- 
8uj)portably cold. Thus, the air serves the surface of the 
earth as a san- shade in the day time, and ae a blanket in the 
night time. 



LESSONS IN GEOGEAPHY. 47 

§ 149. Pressure op the Air. — We have learned already 
that the air is a gas, and that gases press in all directions ; but 
the downward pressure of the air is of so great importance 
in the study of climate, that it must receive more attention. 
The air extends upward from the sea level as much as 500 
miles, although more than half the weight is within three 
miles of the surface of the earth. This mass of air presses 
downward with a force equal to 15 pounds on every square 
inch of surface at the sea level. 

§ 150. The Barometer. — This pressure of the air varies 
considerably at any given locality, and an instrument, called 
a barometer, or, weight measurer, has been devised, which 
indicates the extent of the variations. 

Take a glass tube 32 or 33 inches long, closed at one end, 
and having a box'e of uniform diameter ; fill it with mercury, 
close the open end with the finger, invert the tube, and im- 
merse the lower end in a cup of mercury ; remove the finger, 
and the barometer is made. For jsrotection the cup and tube 
may be enclosed in a wooden or metallic case; a scale 
graduated to tenths of an inch should be placed behind the 
tube. 

§ 151. Measuring Elevations. — At the level of the sea, 
the pressure of the air on the surface of the mercury in the 
cup will sustain a column of mercury in the tube, about 30 
inches high. At an elevation of 917 feet, the pressure will 
sustain a column of only 29 inches; at 1,860 feet, only 28 
inches; at 2,830 feet, only 27 inches; at 3,830 feet, only 26 
inches. Thus the elevation of mountains can be ascertained 
by noticing the hight of the column of mercury in the 
barometer. 

§ 152. Variation of Pressure. — But the most important 
use of the barometer is to indicate variations in pressure 
of the air. The pressure varies considerably for any given 
locality, and the average of one locality may differ from the 
average of other localities of the same elevation. 

At the equator the average hight of the column, at the 
sea level, is 29.927 inches; at 32° N. it is 30.210 inches; at 
64° N. it is 29.652 inches ; at 78° N. it is 29.775 inches, while 
at 25° S. it is 30.11 inches, and at 70° S. it is only 28.88 
inches. 



48 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

§ 153. Causes op Variation in Pressure. — The varia- 
tions in pressure are caused by the unequal heating of the air 
over different parts of the earth's surface, by varying quan- 
tities of water-vapor in the air; by the attraction of the 
moon and sun; by movements of the air; and doubtless by 
other circumstances not understood. 

§ 154. Winds. — Winds are currents of air caused by the 
unequal pressure of the air over different parts of the surface 
of the earth; this unequal pressure is caused mainly by un- 
equal temperatures We have learned that the air has 
mobility, and that when heated it expands, becoming lighter, 
bulk for bulk, than cold air. And we have learned that if 
heat is applied to one part of a body of water, two sets of 
currents are formed. Now if a fire is built in a stove or out 
of duors, careful observation shows that two sets of currents 
are formed in the air as in the water, when the^air is heated 
unequally. The mobility of the air allows the cold, heavy 
air to crowd the warmer and lighter air upward, giving rise 
to two sets of currents, one toward the heat, one upward 
from the heat. 

§ 155. Constant Winds. — The air along the equator is 
much hotter than that either north or south, and the barom- 
eter shows that the air near the equator is lighter than at 
32° N. or 25° S. latitude; this colder, heavier air crowds the 
lighter air upward, forming three currents — one from the 
north and one from the south, toward the equator, and one 
upward. This upward current finally spreads out, one pai't 
flowing north, and the other south toward the regions whence 
they came. 

The causes are constant and the currents are constant; the 
two along the surface, flowing toward the equator, are called 
the lower constant, or trade winds ; while the upper currents, 
flowing from, the equator, are called the upper constant 
winds. 

§ 156. Direction op the Constant Winds.— Under the 
action of heat and gravity alone, these would be north and 
south winds, named from the directions whence they come ; 
but the motion of the earth toward the east makes the air 
seem to come from the east; as, when a person is riding 
rapidly in a carriage or on the cars, the wind usually seems 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 49 

to come from the direction in which he is going. Under the 
action of these two forces, the air comes neither from the north 
nor from the east, but from the north-east; neither from the 
south nor from the east, but from the south-east. Thus the 
lower constant winds are north-east winds north of the equa- 
tor, and south-east winds south of the equator. The upper 
constant winds take the opposite directions, and are south- 
west winds north of the equator, and north-west winds south 
of the equator. The direction of these winds may be ex- 
plained in another way. In the rotation of the earth, places 
near the equator move more rapidly than those toward the 
poles; hence, winds having the motion of places toward the 
poles, as they approach the equator, fall behind places 
having the same longitude as those from which they started; 
therefore, they come from the north-east and south-east. In 
the case of the upper winds the opposite is true; places near 
the equator move more rapidly than those near the poles, 
and winds, having the motion of places near the equator, 
moving toward the poles are in advance of places having 
the same longitude as those from which they started ; there- 
fore, they are south-west winds north of the equator and 
north-west winds south of the equator. 

§ 157. Eegion op Calms. — In the region of greatest heat 
there are some variable winds and fierce storms; but for most 
of the time there is no wind, and it is called the region of 
calms. This region, about 4° wide, varies in position as the 
sun moves north or south; it is usually found between 2° 
and 12° north latitude. 

§ 158. Eegion op Constant Winds. — The regions of 
constant winds are each about 22° wide, one north and one 
south of the region of calms; the one north, extending to 
about 32° north latitude, the one south extending to about 
25° south latitude. Their location varies as the location of 
the region of calms varies. 

§ 159. Evidence op the Upper Constant Winds. — At the 
summit of Mauna Kea, a mountain 14,000 feet high on one 
of the Sandwich Islands, there is always a south-west wind; 
while at the base of the mountain, the wind as regularly 
blows from the north-east. Similar facts have been noticed 
on the peak of Teneriffe, and on the mountains of Eastern 
4 



§0 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

Africa. The volcano of Conseguina in Central America, 
18° north latitude, in its eruption in 1835, gave testimony for 
the upper trade. Some of the ashes thrown out were carried 
1,200 miles south-west by the north-east wind, and some 
were carried 700 miles north-east to Jamaica by the upper 
south-west wind. 

§ 160. Variable Winds.— At about 32° north, and 25° 
south, the upper constant winds reach the surface; a portion 
of each turns back toward the equator, a portion goes on 
toward the poles as a south-west wind in the north temperate 
zone, and as a northwest wind in the south temperate zone. 
Thus the air flows in both directions from the greater 
pressure of 32° N. and 25° S. toward the less pressure of the 
equatorial regions, and toward the less pressure of 64° j!^. 
and of 70° S latitude. 

The south-west and north-west winds are the prevailing 
winds of the temperate zones, but so many winds occur from 
other directions that the winds of these zones are called 
variable winds. 

§ 161. Land and Sea Breezes. — As the land is a good 
absorber of heat, and the water a good reflector, the air over 
the land becomes much hotter and lighter during the day 
than that over the sea, which gives rise to a wind from the sea 
toward the land, called the sea breeze. The land is a better 
radiator than the water, and during the night, the air over it 
becomes cooler and heavier than that over the sea, which 
gives rise to a wind from the land toward the sea, called the 
land breeze. 

§ 162. Monsoon Winds. — In some parts of the earth, dur- 
ing summer, the land and the air above it, become so hot 
that the wind from sea to land, continues for several months j 
while during the winter, the land becomes so cold that the 
wind from land to sea is continuous for months. Such winds 
are called monsoon or season winds. 

§ 163. Monsoon Winds of Asia. — During the long days 
of summer, the high plateaus of Eastern Asia, lying between 
30° and 45° N., become intensely heated, and the air over 
that part of Asia is very light, giving rise to winds from all 
directions toward that region. Thus in India and Farther 
India, a south-west wind prevails from April to October, 



LESgONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 51 

while the regular north-east wind prevails only during 
winter; and along the eastern coast of Asia easterly winds 
occur in summer, the westerly winds of the temperate regions 
prevailing only in winter. During the summer Arabia 
receives many south-east winds, but for most of the year 
north-easterly winds prevail. 

§ 164. Monsoon Winds op Africa. — In Africa the regular 
winds occur in winter, but in summer the great heat of her 
plateaus causes winds from the Atlantic Ocean. From June 
to September a south-west wind prevails along the coast of 
Guinea and northward ; while from December to March the 
north-east wind prevails, and during these months westerly 
winds prevail along the west coast south of the Equator. 
The heat of summer also causes many northerly and north- 
easterly winds from Europe and Asia into Africa. 

§ 165. Other Monsoon Winds. — During the summer, the 
air flows into Australia from all directions; but during win- 
ter, the south-east wind pi-evails in the porth, while the north- 
west prevails in the south. As the regions of constant winds 
move a few degrees north and south owing to the apparent 
motion of the sun, places near their borders have well 
marked season winds. They are especially marked in South 
and North America and in Africa. 

§ 166. Eemarks. — Thus we see that the difference of ab- 
sorbing and radiating power between the water and the land, 
and the relative positions of the land and water, have greatly 
modified the general idea of the winds ; yet the exceptions 
are definite, and in accordance with the laws of matter. We 
may not be able to explain every wind that blows, but we 
may be sure that the air moves toward the least pressure, 
even though we do not know the cause of the diminished 
pressure. 

Those winds from the equator toward the poles are always 
relatively warm winds, while those flowing toward the 
equator are relatively cold winds. This constant to-and-fro 
movement of the air makes the temperature much more 
uniform than it would be if the air did not move. 

§ 167. Moisture or Water-Yapor in the Air. — The 
amount of water- vapor in the air depends on the temperature of 
the air and its distance from large bodies of water; the higher 



52 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

the temperature and the nearer to bodies of water, the more 
water-vapor the air may contain. The air does not hold this 
vapor as a sponge holds water, but the vapor is sustained by 
the force of heat as the air itself is sustained. When 
there is in the air as much water-vapor as the temperature 
will sustain, the air is said to be saturated with moisture ; 
while if the temperature might sustain much more 
water vapor the air, is said to be dry air. 

§ 168. Dew and Frost. — Toward evening during summer, 
good radiators at or near the surface of the earth, become so 
cool that some of the water-vapor condenses on them. This 
condensed vajjor is called dew, and the temperature at which 
the condensation takes place is called the dew-point. The 
temperature of the dew-point varies with the amount of 
water-vapor in the air, the more water-vapor, the higher the 
temperature of the dew-point. When the temperature falls 
below 32°, the water-vapor is deposited on bodies in icy 
crystals, called hoar-frost The air may be so dry that no 
dew or frost can be formed. Sheltering trees, clouds, high 
winds, smoke, or anything that hinders radiation hinders the 
formation of dew or frost. 

§ 169. Clouds, Rain- F'all, AND Snow. — If the temperature 
of the air falls below the dew-point, a portion of the 
water- vapor condenses into minute drops of water, which, 
high in the air, constitute clouds ; but if near the surface, they 
constitute a fog. The air sustains the cloud and fog. If the 
temperature is reduced farther, more moisture condenses, the 
drops become larger, the air can not sustain them, and they 
fall slowly as a mist. If the temperature is reduced farther 
still, more moisture is condensed, and the drops, increased in 
size, fall rapidly as rain. If the temperature over large 
areas is at or below 32°, the moisture falls as snow. If in the 
heat of a summer day, a small portion of air high above the 
surface is cooled suddenly below 32°, the drops of water 
formed, freeze, and falling through moist air increase in size, 
reaching the surface as hail. 

§ 170. Distribution op Rain-fall. — In general the rain- 
fall decreases from the equator toward the poles, and from 
the coasts towai'd the interior of continents. Estimating 
rain-fall in inches, the annual amount at the equator is about 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 53 

100 inches, while at 60° N. or S., it is not more than 20 
inches. Thus tropical and oceanic climates are not only 
more uniform in temperature, but are more moist than arctic 
or continental climates. 

§ 171. Eain-fall in the Torrid E.EaiON.-Air becomes cooler 
and loses its moisture when it moves from the equator .toward 
the poles, or upward to colder regions. In the torrid region 
where the sun's rays fall vertically, the heat of the forenoon 
fills the air with great quantities of water- vapor. This vapor 
rises with the air to colder regions, where a portion of it is 
condensed into clouds and falls as rain during the afternoon. 
The nights and forenoons are usuallj^ clear, the warm, moist 
air is continually rising, but it is not forced iip into regions 
cold enough to condense its moisture. 

§ 172. Wet and Dry Seasons. — These daily rains follow 
the sun in his apparent journey north and south. When the 
sun comes north, places near ther equator have one wet 
season, and another when the sun goes south, giving such 
places four seasons, two wet and two dry ; but near the tropics 
the two wet seasons merge into one, and there is a wet season 
while the sun's rays fall vertically, and a dry season when 
the sun is near the other tropic. 

§ 173. Rain-fall toward the Poles. — The winds from 
the equator toward the poles are not only warm winds, but 
also moist, rain-bringing winds. As these winds flow north- 
easterly and south-easterly, they are continually losing 
moisture, as rain or snow ; if they pass over high mountains, 
they lose great quantities of moisture and reach the other 
side as comparatively dry winds. The south-west monsoon in 
passing the lofty Himalaya Mountains loses nearly all its 
moisture, giving the southern slope of those mountains an 
enormous rain-fall, in some places amounting to more than 
600 inches a year, which falls mostly during the summer 
months. During the same months the easterly winds, along 
the eastern part of Asia, deposit large quantities of moisture 
on the Yun-ling and other mountains. The south-westerly 
winds deposit large quantities of moisture along the mount- 
ains of Western Europe and ISorth America, so that in some 
localities along these mountains, even in 60° north latitude, 
there is an annual' rain-fall of from 70 to 80 inches. The 



54 LESSONS IN GEOGEAPHY. 

north-westerly winds furnish moisture to the southern parts 
of South America, Africa, and Australia. 

§ 174. Eegions of Scanty Eain-fall. — The high mount- 
ains along the western coast of North America deprive the 
westerly winds of so much moisture, that broad areas of land 
along their eastern slopes have but little rain-fall. Eastern 
Europe and North-western Asia are so fiar from the warmer 
oceans, that they have but a scanty rain-fall. The greater 
part of the surface of Australia is so low and hot, that but 
little moisture is condensed except on the mountains in the 
south-eastern part. In the extreme northern part of Australia? 
there is a brief rainy season. 

§ 175. Eainless Eegions. — On the plateaus of Gobi and 
Thibet in Asia, there is no rain-fall, as the winds lose their 
moisture in crossing the Himalaya, Yun-ling, and other 
mountains. The plateaus of Iran, Arabia, and Northern 
Africa get no rain-fall, as the prevailing north-east wind, 
coming across broad areas of land toward warmer regions, is 
a dry wind. In South America, west of the Andes, between 
5° and 25° S. there is no rain-fall, as the easterly winds have 
lost their moisture on the eastern slope of the mountains. 

§ 176. Storms. — Storms are violent atmospheric phe- 
nomena, caused by very unequal atmospheric pressures. 
btorms may be violent winds only, but usually they consist 
of violent winds accompanied by rain, snow, or hail, and in 
summer, generally by thunder and lightning. The general 
circulation of the air depends on belts of unequal pressures 
extending around the earth ; but storms depend on limited 
areas of low pressure, which are usually of an elliptical form, 
and vary in diameter from a few miles to several hundred 
and even thousands of miles. 

§ 177. Development op a Storm. — From neat, from the 
presence of great quantities of water-vapor, or from other 
causes not well understood, the air is made lighter over a 
limited area, which is called an area of low pressure. The 
heavier air of surrounding regions, crowding in fx'om all 
directions, forces this lighter air upward, which as it rises 
loses heat by expansion at the rate of more than 3° tor every 
1000 feet of ascent. This diminished temperature allows 
some of the moisture to condense into clouds; the heat 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 55 

developed by this condensation of vapor warms the air again, 
and it is forced higher still, and more vapor is condensed. 
The •warm, moist winds from the south meeting colder winds 
from the north, the cold of expansion, and the heat of 
condensation give rise to great differences of pressure and 
of temperature, strong winds arise, dark clouds are formed, 
the rain begins to fall, and the storm is in full progress. 

§ 178. Direction op the Wind in Storms. — JMorth of the 
equator, air coming from the north toward a storm center 
becomes a north-east wind ; while air coming from the south 
becomes a south west wind, on account of the rotation of the 
earth, which gives the upper and lower constant winds the 
same directions. For this reason the air has a spiral motion 
as it moves toward the center, and if the area is small, there 
may be a whirlwind or waterspout. North of the equator, 
this spiral motion is in a direction contrary to that in which 
the hands of a watch move ; while-^^south of the equator the 
winds blow from the north-west and south-east, and the spiral 
motion is in the same direction as that in which the hands of 
the watch move. In the temperate zones, f-torms move from 
west to east at a velocity of from one to forty miles per hour. 

§ 179. Winds at a given place during a Storm. — Suppose 
a storm in Missouri, moving north-east toward the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, the center passing Indianapolis and Cleveland. 
The winds for Indiana at first would be easterly, north- 
easterly, and southe-asterly ; when the center reaches Indian- 
apolis, there will be a calm or lull in the storm for that place 
with northerly winds north and southerly winds i-outh ; and 
as the storm passes on, westerly, north-westerly, and south- 
westerly winds will spring up. A little careful observation 
will verify the above description of the winds attending a 
storm, and enable one to know whether the storm-center in 
any given case has passed to the north or south of his 
locality, or whether it has been central. 

§ 180. Cyclones. — On the sea, near the tropics, very severe 
storms frequently arise, called cyclones, from their circular 
form, and from the circular movement of the air. In diame- 
ter they vary from 100 to 1000 miles. They move from 2 to 
40 miles per hour, while the air in its circular motion 
moves from 40 to over 100 miles per hour. JSIorth of the 



56 LESSONS Ilf GEOGRAPHY. 

equator, a cyclone moves first north-west, then north-east; 
while south of the equator, the movement is first south-west, 
then south-east. The circular motion of the air is in the 
same direction as in ordinary storms. Cyclones occur in the 
West Indies, in the Indian Ocean, and in the China seas. 
Cyclones usually cause great destruction when they approach 
the coast. In October, 1876, at the head of the Bay of Ben- 
gal, the water driven over the land by a cyclone, destroyed 
over 200,000 persons besides hundreds of villages, thousands 
of cattle, and great quantities of other property. In the China 
seas these storms are called Typhoons. 

THE SEA. 

§ 181. Bed and Depth or the Sea. — Like the surface of 
the land, the bed or bottom of the sea is very uneven, causing 
great irregularity in its depth, which varies from a few feet to 
five or six miles. 

§ 182. Composition of Sea Water. — In 100 parts of sea 
water, there are oi pure water about 96.2 parts; of saZi 2.7 
parts; of magnesia .6 parts; of lime .1 part; with traces of 
silver, copper, iron, iodine, and many other substances. The 
composition varies somewhat ; near the mouths of large 
rivers and at the poles, there is less solid matter than in the 
equatorial regions, 

§ 183, Movements op the Sea. — The sea has two move- 
ments, waves and currents. Waves are upward and down- 
ward movements of the water caused by the winds, by the 
attraction of the sun and moon, and by earthquakes. Cur- 
rents are forward movements of the water caused by the 
winds, unequal heating of the water, etc. 

§184. Waves. — The friction of the wind on. the surface 
of the water causes waves ; if the wind act in the same direc- 
tion for only a short time, there will be but little forward 
movement of the water. The wave moves forward, but the 
water has very little motion other than upward and down- 
ward; as, in shaking a carpet, the waves formed move the 
whole length of the carpet, while the carpet itself moves only 
upward and downward. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 57 

2. Parts of a Wave. — The crest of a wave is its highest 
part; the trough is the depression between two waves, and is 
as much below the general level as the creet is above. The 
hight of waves, from trough to crest, has never been known 
to exceed 35 or 40 feet 

3. Breakers. — When waves advancing toward the shore, 
reach the shallows, the motion is retarded at the bottom by 
friction; and the top moving on without support, breaks 
over upon the shore, thus forming what are called breakers. 

4. Force and hight of waves. — The /orce and hight of waves 
vary with the force of the winds It has been estimated that 
the waves sometimes beat upon the shore with a force of 
5,000 or 6,000 pounds to the square foot. 

§185. Tides. — The tides are four waves, two of equa 
hight, on opposite sides of the earth, caused by the attraction 
of the moon, and two much smaller caused by the attraction 
of the sun. 

Explanation. — That the tides are caused by the attraction 
of the sun and moon is generally acknowledged, but there 
are several theories as to the manner in which these attrac- 
tions act in forming them, none of which are entirely satis- 
factory. The one which seems most reasonable is, that the 
attraction of the sun or moon makes the water on the sides of 
the earth toward and opposite them, lighter than the water 
midway between these points; and the heavier waters push 
the lighter up into ridges, one toward and one from the 
attracting body. Owing to the great distance of the sun, 
the moon causes the main part of the tides. 

§ 186. Motion op the Moon Tides. — As the moon revolves 
about the earth once in about 27 days, these waves make the 
circuit of the earth in the same time. The earth rotates onco 
in 24 hours, in the same direction in which the moon 
revolves. During one rotation of the earth, the moon moves 
forward, so that it takes the earth about 52 minutes to 
reach the same position with regard to the moon, that it had 
the day before ; i. e., the moon rises 52 minutes later each 
day. As the tidal waves follow the moon, any given place 
passes through the crest of both tidal waves once in 24 
hours and 52 minutes, reaching the crest of a given 
tidal wave 52 minutes later each day. 



58 



LESSONS IN GEOGEAPHY, 



§ 187. Flood anb Ebb Tides. — In the rotation of the 
earth, when a place is passing irom the trough toward the 
crest of the tide- wave, it is flood tide at that place ; hut when 
passing from the crest to the trough, it is ebb tide. When in 
the crest, the place is in high water; when in the trough, it is 
in low water. 

§ 188. Spring and Neap Tides. — Twice during the revo 
lution of the moon around the earth, the crests of the tides 
caused by the sun and moon coincide, and a much higher 
tide is formed, called a spring tide. And twice during one 
revolution, the crest of one coincides with the trough of the 
other, and a low tide is formed, called a neap tide. 

§ 189. HiGHT OF THE TiDES. — In mid-ocean, the differ- 
ence between high water and low water is about three feet; 
but owing to the motion of the earth, the water heaps up on 
the eastern side of the continents, rising to the hight of 
8 or 10 feet; and in some rivers, as high as 20 or 30 feet; 
and in the bay of Fundy, as high as 65 feet. The irregu- 
larity ot the coast line and the unequal depth of the sea 
make the motion and hight of the tides very irregular. 

§ 190. Currents and their Velocity.— Currents are 
vast bodies of water having a progressive movement in a 
definite direction. They vary in velocity from one mile per 
day to four miles per hour. 

§ 191. Causes of Currents. — Currents are caused by 
winds, by the unequal heating of the water, by the tides, by 
evaporation, and by the rotation of the earth. Their direc- 
tion is modified by the arrangement of the continents. 

§192. Equatorial Currents. — I'he lower constant winds 
are probably the main cause of ocean currents. These winds 
blowing continuously, cause a broad current from the east 
toward the west along the equator in the Atlantic, Pacific, 
and Indian oceans, called equatorial currents. In the Indian 
ocean, part of the equatorial current is changed into a north- 
east current by the south-west monsoon winds. 

§ 193. Antarctic and Arctic Currents. — The great 
heat at the equator makes the water there lighter than the 
water of the polar regions ; the water flowing westward as 
the equatorial current, tends to make the water low on the 
western shores of the continents. These conditions, together 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 59 

with the rotation of the fearth, cause currents from the polar 
regions toward the equator. A broad current called the 
Antarctic drift current, starting northward, is turned to the 
north-east against the south-western shores of the con- 
tinents by the prevailing north-west wind of the south tem- 
perate zone. That branch of the Antarctic current flowing 
along the coast of South America is called the Peruvian 
current A strong current from Baffin's bay joins one from 
the eastern side of Greenland, forming the Labrador current, 
which flows along the eastern coast of North America. A 
narrow current flows through Behring strait into the Pacific 
ocean. 

§ 194. Currents of the Atlantic Ocean. — The Ant- 
arctic current flows north-easterly against the western coast 
of Africa, thence westward as the equatorial current to the 
coast of South America, where it divides, the greater part 
flowing north-west through the Ca^ribean sea into the Grulf 
of Mexico, then through the strait of Florida with a velocity 
of about four miles per hour, into the Atlantic again ; from 
Florida, as the gulf stream, it flows north-easterly under the 
influence of the prevailing south-west wind, against the coast 
of Europe, where it divides, the greater part flowing north- 
erly into the Arctic ocean, the other part flowing south-east 
along the north-western coast of Africa, joins the equa- 
torial current and flows westward again. A portion of the 
equatorial current turns southward along the coast of South 
America as the Brazilian current, which, turned south-east by 
the north-west winds, at length joins the Antarctic current 
flowing toward Africa again. 

§ 195. Currents of the Pacific Ocean. — The Antarctic 
current flows north-easterly to the western coast of South 
America, then northerly as the Peruvian current, then west- 
erly forming part of the equatorial current. The equatorial 
current is broken up among the East India Islands, one por- 
tion passing through into the Indian ocean, another turning 
south and south-east joins the Antarctic current; but the 
greater part flows north-east along the eastern coast of Asia 
as the Japan current. The Japan current sends a narrow 
branch into the Arctic ocean through Behring strait, but the 
main part flows eastward along the Aleutian Islands to North 



60 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

America, then southward and south»west into the equatorial 
current flowing westward. 

§ 196. Currents of the Indian Ocean. — That portion 
of the Antarctic current reflected from the coast of Australia, 
with a portion of the equatorial current from the Pacific 
ocean, forms an equatorial current, in the Indian ocean. 
The greater part of this current flows south-westerly past 
Madagascar, then south-east, joining the Antarctic current in 
its course toward the north-east. The south-west Monsoon 
winds break up the regularity of the equatorial current in 
the northern part ot the Indian ocean, causing a strong north- 
east current during the summer. 

§ 197. Currents caused by Tides. — At Quebec, on the 
St. Lawrence river, when the tide is rising, the current is up 
the river; when the tide is falling, the current is down the 
river; i. e., the tide causes a current both ways twice every 24 
hours and 52 minutes. The same is true of the mouths of 
other large rivers, and of narrow channels. 

§ 198. Currents caused by Evaporation. — The great 
heat of the Torrid zone causes great quantities of water to 
evaporate from the Hed Sea, the waters remaining becom- 
ing very dense. A current flows in from the Indian ocean 
to supply the waste by evaporation. The denser water, left 
by evaporation, sinks, and flows out into the ocean as an 
under-current. For the same reason, similar currents occur 
in the Mediterranean sea. 

§ 199. Sargasso Seas. — In the Southern Hemisphere, the 
water moves from the east toward the west, and by the south 
back toward the east again. In the l>Iorthern Hemisphere, 
the water moves from the east toward the west, and by the 
north back towards the east again. Within the five circuits 
described, are vast areas of quiet water, where are found great 
quantities of drift material and sea-weed. These areas are 
called Sargasso, or grassy seas. 

§ 200. Effects of the Ocean Currents. — Currents 
modify the coast lines of the continents, equalize the temper- 
ature and saltness of the ocean, and greatly modify the tem- 
perature of the land. The Antarctic current makee the south- 
western part o^ each continent colder than it would be 
from its latitude, and the Labrador current has a similar 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 61 

effect on tbe temperature of Eastern North America. The 
southern branches of the Equatorial currents warm the south- 
eastern part of each continent, while the Gulf stream and the 
Japan current render the western parts of Europe and North 
America warmer than would be expected from their latitude. 

§ 201. Ge.neral Circulation in the Sea and Air. — The 
currents we have considered are only surface currents. 
There is abundant evidence of strong under-currents in var- 
ious parts of the sea, differing in direction, from the sur- 
face currents. Icebergs floating southward against the Gulf 
stream show that the Labrador current is a powerful current 
still, though far beneath the surface. If an equilibrium of 
pressure is preserved in the sea and air, there must be in each 
as much movement toward the Equator as from it. The 
currents which we can investigate at the bottom of the air, and 
at the surface of the sea do not account for this constant equi- 
librium. There are other and granjler movements of both air 
and sea. of which we know but little, and which must always 
prevent a complete explanation of the phenomena that come 
within our observation. 

§ 202. Distribution of Heat modified. — The general 
idea of the distribution of heat, gained fi'om the study of the 
form, position, and motion of the earth, has been modified by 
the study of the air, and the surface of the earth. The air 
tempers the heat of day and the cold of night; the water ren- 
ders the temperature of the land near it more uniform ; the 
elevation of the mountains and plateaus makes them colder 
than the plains ; and the ocean currents make some parts 
colder, and some parts warmer than they otherwise would be. 
The irregularity of the decrease of heat towards the poles is 
shown by, 

Isothermal Lines. — Isothermal lines are lines extending 
around the earth, connecting places which have the same mean 
annual temperature. Owing mainly to the elevations of the 
land and to the oceari currents these lines do not coincide 
with the boundaries of the parallels. In general they trend 
from north-west to south-east in crossing the continents, and 
from south-west to north-east in crossing the oceans. In 
crossing a mountain-chain, they trend toward the equator 
while ascending, and from it while descending the slope. 



62 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

Trace on the map the isotherms of 30°, 40°, 50°, 60° and 72°, 
both north and south of the equator. 

INLAND WATERS. 

§ 203. Inland Waters. — One part of the rain and snow 
which fall upon the land is evaporated again ; but the greater 
part forms ponds,- springs, brooks, rivers, and lakes, called 
inland waters, and among high mountains and in the polar 
regions, snow fields and glaciers are formed. 

§204. Ponds and Springs. — A portion of the water from 
rain and snow collects in small depressions, forming ponds, 
while another portion sinks into the earth till it reaches a 
layer of rock it cannot pass ; here it accumulates till by its 
weight it breaks through to the surface again, at a lower 
level, forming a spring. 

§ 205. Kinds op Springs — Named from the time of flow, 
springs are constant, periodical, and variable. Named from 
their temperature, they are cold, warm, and hot. Named 
from the composition of the water, springs are iron, saline, 
alkaline, sulphur, calcareous, etc. In the Yellowstone valley 
in North America, and in Iceland, there are Geysers, or 
spouting springs. 

§ 206. Brooks, Creeks, Etc — Water flowing from springs 
and ponds forms brooks, a number of brooks uniting form a 
creek or branch, while a number of creeks uniting form a 
river. A river is a large bod}' of water flowing through a 
narrow depression in the. land. The brooks and creeks 
which help to form a river, are called its tributaries. 

§ 207. Source and Course of a Eiver. — The source of 
a river may be a spring, or a body of water formed by the 
union of several brooks, or the snows of some mountain 
chain. The course of a river is the general direction' in which 
it flows ; as, the Hudson river has a southerly course, 

§ 208. Channel. — The channel of a river is the depres- 
sion through which it flows. This is partly natural and 
partly the work of the river itself The sides of the channel 
are called the banks of the river. The left bank is the one on 
on the left as you go down stream ; and the other is the right 
bank. The bottom of the channel is called the bed of the 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 63 

river. If the bed is nearly horizontal, the river flows 
slowly ; if somewhat inclined, the river flows more rapidly ; 
if much inclined, the river flows swiftly, forming rapids; if 
at any place the bed is nearly vertical, the river, flowing over 
such a place, forms a fall or cataract; as, Niagara falls, Vic- 
toria falls, and the falls of Minnehaha. 

§ 209. Mouth. — The mouth of a river is that part where 
it flows into some larger body of water. If the mouth is 
broad and deep it is called an estuary. The solid matter 
brought down by the river sometimes forms low islands at 
its mouth. These islands divide the river so that it has 
many mouths instead of one. These islands, together with 
the divisions of the river constitute what is called, from its 
form, a delta; as, the delta of the Mississippi river, and the 
delta of the Nile. 

§ 210. ErvER SrsTEM and Valley. — A. river system con- 
sists of a river together with ail its tributaries. That 
portion of land drained by a river system is called a river 
valley. The ridge of land which separates one river valey 
from others, is called a divide or water-parting. The water- 
parting may be a mountain chain or only a low swell of land. 

§ 211 Lakes. — Lakes are broad depressions in the land, 
filled with water. Brooks, creeks, and rivers, flowing into 
a lake are called inlets, while a river flowing from a lake is 
called an outlet. Lakes which have an outlet are usually 
fresh water lakes, and often seem to be a mere expansion of a 
river; as, Lake Brie, or Lake Champlain. A lake which has 
no outlet is usually a salt water lake : as, the Great Salt Lake, 
or the Dead Sea. Such lakes are drained by eviiporation. 

§ 212. Snow-Pields and Glaciers. — On high mountains 
and plateaus, and in the polar regions, more snowfalls during 
the winter than melts during the summer, so that vast areas are 
covered with snow for the whole year. The water from the 
snow that does melt during the summer, settles down into the 
mass, and with the pressure from above changes the lower 
parts into ice. If such a mass of snow and ice lie on a level 
surface, there is no motion^ and it is called a snow-field^ but if 
it lie on a slope, whether in a narrow valley or on a broad 
surface, it slides downward as a glacier or ice-river. 



64 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



fW§ 213. The Work of the Glacier. — As these mighty rivers, 
sometimes hundreds of feet in thickness, slide slowly down- 
a rd toward a warmer clime or toward the sea, they crush 
down the rocks, grinding them to powder; they groove and 
polish the bed and sides of the valley in which they move, and 
carry great quantities of rock far down the mountain side. 
Greenland is nearly covered with snow-fields and glaciers. 
The glaciers of Greenland slide out into the sea, which from 
time to time, by its buoyancy, breaks olf huge fragments, 
which float away as icebergs. Icebergs are also formed in the 
Antarctic ocean. 

Note. — Locate the following rivers and lakes : 



Amazon, 

Amoor, 

Arkansas, 

Brahmaputra, 

Cambodia, 

Clyde, 

Columbia, 

Congo, 

Danube, 

Delaware, 

Douro, 

Don, 

Dwina, 

Ebro, 

Elbe, 

Euphrates, 

Ganges, 



Baikal, 
Charaplain, 

Erie, 
Geneva, 
Great Salt, 
Great Bear, 



Rivers. 

Gironde, 

Hudson, 

Hoang-Ho, 

Indus, 

Madeira, 

Magdalena, 

Mersey, 

Mississippi, 

Mackenzie, 

Missouri, 

ISile, 

Niger, 

Orinoco, 

Orange, 

Penobscot, 

Po, 

Potomac, 

Lakes. 

Huron, 

Killarney, 

Michigan, 

Maracaybo, 

Nicaragua, 

Ontario, 



Rio Grande, 

Rio de la Plata, 

Rhine, 

Sacramento, 

San Francisco, 

Savannah, 

Severn, 

Seine, 

Shannon, 

St. Lawrence, 

Tagus, 

Thames, 

Volga, 

Yenisei, 

Yukon, 

Zambezi. 



Onega, 
Superior, 
Titicaca, ' 
"Victoria Nyanza, 
Wener. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 65 

§ 214. The Effects of Flowing Water. — The surface 
of the rocks, softened by the air and water, expanding in 
summer, contracting in winter, is broken up by freezing 
water. The fragments carried down the mountain side by 
the melting snow or glacier are ground to dust by friction 
among themselves, and are spread out as low plains at the 
base of the mountains. The glacier or river laden with 
these fragments is a great rasp cutting grooves in the moun- 
tains, and channels through the land. Thus the valleys are 
formed, the mountains changed in form and diminished in 
elevation, while the low plains are growing in extent. 

VEGETATION. 

§ 215. Soil. — Portions of the rocks composed of many 
different elements, broken down, pulverized, and intermingled 
by the action of heat, air, water, and frost, constitute soil. 
Soil varies greatly owing to the different kinds of rock 
from which it is formed. 

§ 216. Plants. — The forms and the phenomena of matter 
which we have already studied, depend on the forces of 
attraction and repulsion. But, from the elements of the air, 
water, and soil, these two forces, with the aid of sunlight, and 
vital force, are able to build up a new class of objects called 
plants. Plants are called organized beings, since they are 
made up of parts or organs, each of which is necessary to 
the good of the whole, and to the good of every other part. 

§ 217. Composition of Plants. — Plants are composed 
mainly of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, which 
they get principally from the air and water. Plants contain 
also small quantities of potassa, soda, silicon, iron, lime, etc., 
which they obtain from the soil. Water not only serves as 
food for plants, but it dissolves the materials of the soil, 
which otherwise could not be appropriated by the plants. 

§ 218. Structure of Plants. — Each plant has three sets 
of organs or parts ; roots, stems, and leaves. The object 
of an individual plant seems to be reproduction ; to accom- 
plish this, some of the leaves are changed into flowers or 
spores ; these organs mature seeds, or other matter from 
which new plants grow. 

5 



66 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

§ 219. Classification of Plants. — Plants are divided 
into two series : first, flowerless plants, such as ferns, lichens, 
mushrooms, and sea-weeds; second, flowering plants. Flow. 
ering plants are divided into two classes: 1. The Exogenous 
plants, or outside growers, which have stems and leaves like 
the oak, the maple, or any of the trees common in the temper- 
ate zone, and whose flowers have either four or five petals or 
leave?, like the flower of the strawberry or fuchsia. 2. The 
^Endogenous plants, or inside growers, which have stems like 
the cornstalk or palm tree, whose leaves are narrow with 
nearly parallel ribs, like the leaves of grasses and lilies, and 
whose flowers have three or six petals or leaves, as the lily 
or hyacinth. Each of these classes is divided into families. 
The most important families of the Endogenous class are, — 
the grass family to which belong most of the grains, the 
palm family, the plantain family to which the banana 
belongs, and the lily family. The most important families 
of the Exogenous class are, — the rose family to which belong 
the apple, pear, etc., the pea family, the mustard family, 
the mallow family, the potato family, the pine family, and the 
oak family. 

ANIMALS. 

§ 220. Conditions for Animal Life. — Air, moisture, 
heat, sunshine, and plants are the conditions necessary to 
animal life. While the object of a single plant maybe repro- 
duction, the object of plants in general is to furnish material 
for the growth of animals. Plants and animals are built up 
from the same kind of matter, but the greater part of this 
matter must be assimilated by the plant before it can be 
assimilated by the animal. 

§ 221. Classification OF Animals. — On the basis of struc- 
ture, animals are divided into six sub-kingdoms : 1. Protozoa.— 
Protozoans are minute animals living in the water, composed 
of a substance much like the white-of-egg, in which there is 
usually no trace of organs of any kind. The ordinary sponge 
is the common skeleton of a community of protozoans. 
2 Ccelenterata. — The animals of this sub-kingdom are water 
animals with a radiate structure, having digestive and repro- 
ductive organs, and usually stinging organs on the surface. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 67 

The coral polyp belongs to this division. 3. Echinodermata. — 
The members of this divisior, are mainly water animals, hav- 
ing a radiate structure, with well-defined nervous and diges- 
tive organs, and many of them secrete calcareous plates in 
their body walls. Crinoids, star-fishes, and sea-urchins are 
representatives of this division. 4. Mollusca. — The mollusca 
are soft bodied animals with a scattered nervous system, a 
muscular skin, and in most cases, a calcareous shell. Oys- 
ters, clams, mussels, snails, and cuttle-fish are members of the 
sub-kingdom Mollusca. 5. Articulata. — The articulates 
are composed of several segments, and have jointed arms or 
legs. They have a more complete nervous system than the 
Mollusca, and usually a circulatory apparatus with a tubular 
heart. Crabs and lobsters, spiders and scorpions, and all 
true insects, belong to this sub-kingdom. 6. Vertehrata — The 
vertebrates have an internal, jointed skeleton, with the 
nervous centers enclosed in bony cavities composed of verte- 
brae. Of this sub-kingdom five classes are made : (a.) Pisces. — 
To this class belong all true fishes. They are cold-blooded 
animals breathing by means of gills, (b.) Amphibia. — To 
this class belong frogs and toads. They are cold-blooded 
animals breathing by means of gills when young, but having 
true lungs when they have arrived at maturity, (c.) Eeptilia. 
— To this class belong serpents, turtles, and alligators They 
are cold-blooded, air-breathing animals, covered with scales 
or bony plates, (d.) Aves. — The members of this class ai'e 
birds. They are warm-blooded animals covered with feathers; 
they have no teeth, and breathe with fixed lungs, (e.) Mam- 
malia. — The animals of this class suckle their young, have 
movable lungs and are usually covered with hair; as, the 
horse, ox, dog, buffalo, deer, monkey, and others. 

Note. — The Vertehrata are larger, more intelligent, and 
apparently more useful than the members of the other sub- 
kingdoms ; yet the others have been very important factors 
in the development of the earth, and are essential to the 
present order of things in nature. 

§ 222. Distribution of Plants and Animals. — As the 
amount of heat and rain-fall diminishes from the equator 
toward the poles, and as heat and moisture are necessary 



68 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

to plants, and plants to animals, each must decrease in 
quantity and vary in character toward the poles. In general, 
plants and animals diminish in size and in number of kinds 
from the equator toward the poles. 

§ 223. Isothermal Zones. — The change in climate, and 
the varying character of plants and animals, toward the 
poles, form a basis for dividing the earth's surface into eight 
zones, which are bounded by isothermal lines, and are called 
isothermal zones. 

§ 224. The Arctic Zone. — This zone extends from the 
isotherm of 30° to the North Pole, including the northern 
parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. 2. Climate. — The 
mean annual temperature is below 18°. At 67° N. L. and 
140° E. L , and at 75° N. L. and 100° W. L., the average 
temperature for January is — 40° ; while a large portion of 
the zone has a July temperature of 40°. The winds are 
mainly from the west in North America and Europe, but in 
Asia, they are mainly from the east. During the summer, 
there is a drizzly rain almost every day, yet the annual rain- 
fall is only about 10 inches. 3. Vegetation. — The vegetation, 
in general, consists of lichens, mosses, grasses, ferns, and 
stunted shrubs ; in the southern part, are stunted spruce and 
pine, and in Europe and Asia, some quite extensive forests of 
these trees ; along the streams, alders and willows abound. 
4. Tundras and Peat Bogs. — In this zone there are vast 
tracts of land called frozen swamps or tundras, which, thaw- 
ing a little in summer, produce mosses and stunted shrubs ; 
this vegetation, decaying from year to year, has formed the 
peat bogs of Northern Europe and Asia. 5. Animal Life. — 
The animal life of this zone consists mainly of fur-bearing 
animals on the land and ice ; as, the polar-bear, musk-ox, 
reindeer, dog, wolf, white fox, sable, ermine, and mink ; 
while in the sea, whales, walruses, seals, ducks, geese and 
other swimming birds are found in great numbers. 

§ 225. The North Cold Temperate Zone. — This zone 
lies between the isothermes of 30° and 40° north. 2. 
Climate. — The mean annual temperature is about 35°; the 
winds are mainly from the west in North America and 
Europe, but mainly from the east in Asia. The annual rain- 
fall is about 20 inches ; on the western coasts of North 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 69 

America and Europe, in this zone there is an average rain- ■ 
fall of from 50 to 80 inches, but in other parts the rain-fall is 
scanty. 3. Vegetation. — The forests of this zone are mainly 
composed of narrow-leaved evergreens ; as, the pine and 
spruce, with a few birch, ash, and other deciduous trees; 
acid berries, as, the gooseberry, cranberry, and currant, 
abound; buckwheat, barley, rye, oats, hemp, the potato, 
turnip, and other valuable plants are found in Europe and 
Asia. In a large portion of this zone, the rain -fall is so scanty 
that only grasses or small shrubs can grow; such regions are 
called steppes : they are very extensive in each of the grand 
divisions in this zone. 4. Animal Life. — The animal life of 
this zone is not peculiar, being similar to that of the zones 
north and south; the beaver, otter, sable, elk, moose, dog, 
wolf, fox, horse, ox, sheep, hog, goat, and ducks, geese, and 
other birds are met with in this zone. 

§ 226. The North Temperate Zone. — This zone lies 
between the isotherms 40° and 60° north, including those por- 
tions of North America, Europe, and Asia, lying between 38° 
and 55° north latitude. 2. Climate. — The mean annual tem- 
perature is about 50° ; the mountainous regions of Eastern 
Asia, from their elevation, are so cold that they virtually 
belong to the cold temperate zone. The winds are south- 
west and westerly in North America and Western Europe, 
but mainly from the north-east and east in Eastern Europe 
and Asia. The rain-fall is more abundant near the coasts, 
but the average for the zone is about 35 inches. 3. Vegeta- 
tion. — In this zone, forests of deciduous trees prevail ; as, 
the oak, maple, beech, walnut, elm, ash, and hickory ; in the 
northern part and along the mountains, forests of pine and 
spruce occur. Thorns, elders, rose bushes, several kinds of 
berry bushes, the. willow, paw-paw, wild plum, choke cherry, 
and many other kinds of underwood abound. Among 
plants, wheat, maize, oats, barley, and timothy, members of 
the grass family; tobacco, the tomato, and potato, members of 
the) potato family; the turnip, radish, and mustard, members 
of the mustard family ; peas, beans, and clover, members of 
the pea family, and many other useful and beautiful plants 
are common in this zone. Broad steppes exist in the central 



70 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

parts of each continent in this zone. 4. Animal Life. — In 
this zone are found the horse, ox, buffalo, bison, sheep, dog, 
hog, raccoon, chamois, musk deer, grizzly bear, rabbit, red 
deer, antelope, and other animals ; among birds, wild turkeys, 
geese, ducks, eagles, hawks, cranes, grouse, quails, pigeons, 
thrushes, sparrows, snipe, plover, woodpeckers, and jays; 
among fish, the herring, cod, mackerel, shad, salmon, stur- 
geon, white fish, trout, pike, and many others. Some of 
these fish, as the cod and salmon, range northward as far as 
\hQ frigid zone. Serpents, turtles, frogs, toads, and other rejp- 
iiles are found in this zone also. 

§ 227. North Warm Temperate Zone. — This zone lies 
between the isotherms of 60° and 72° north. 2. Climate — 
The mean annual temperature is about 66° ; the winds are 
from the north-east in the southern part, and from the south- 
west in the northern part in North America and Europe ; but 
in Asia the winds are mainly from the east and north-east 
in this zone. 3. Vegetation. — In this zone the characteristic 
forests are broad-leaved evergreens ; as, the laurel, oleander, 
palmetto, myrtle, lemon, orange, and fig; large forests of 
deciduous trees and of narrow-leaved evergreens also occur. 
Eice, sugar cane, cotton, tea, wheat, flax, the almond, poppy, 
and mulberry also grow in abundance. The plateau region of 
North America lying in this zone is a steppe ; the plateau of 
Iran in Asia is a desert surrounded by a border of steppes. 
The plateaus of Thibet and Gobi lie in the same latitude as 
the greater part of this zone and the temperate zone, but the 
elevation practically transfers them to the cold temperate 
zone, and their mountain rims make them deserts by exclud- 
ing all moisture. 4. Animal Life. — In this zone are found 
the camel, gazelle, wild horse, wild hog, goat, yak, ox, leop- 
ard, tiger, hyena, and jackal. The crocodile, alligator, and 
other reptiles, larger and more numerous than those of the 
temperate zone, abound in this zone. 

§ 228. The Torrid Zone. — The torrid- zone lies between 
the isotherms of 72° both north and south of the equator. 
2. Climate. — The mean annual temperature is about 77° ; 
the average for the hottest months, July in the north and 
January in the south, is from 80° to 95°, and of the coldest 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 71 

months the average is from 60° to 80°. The winds are from 
the north-east north of the equator, and from the south-east 
south of the equator ; in Southern Asia and Western Africa, 
owing to the great heat during summer, there are exceptional 
winds from the west ; and in summer, Arabia has some south- 
east winds. The annual rain-fall is about 85 inches, and it is 
more unequally distributed than in any of the other zones. 
Along the mountains north of the Bay of Bengal, there is a 
rain-fall of 600 inches, and in some parts of South America, 
there is a rain-fall of more than 200 inches, while in Northern 
Africa, there is no rain-fall. 3. Vegetation. — The palm, bam- 
boo. India-rubber, sandal-wood, mahogany, teak, banyan, 
tree fern, banana, cinnamon, coffee, millet, sugar-cane, rice, 
pineapple, cocoa, cinchona, and many other valuable trees 
and plants make up the dense forests of this zone. The 
trees of the forests are so bound together with vines and 
parasitic plants, and so filled with underwood, that it is 
almost impossible for man or beast to make paths through 
them ; so that they are, for the most part, vast solitudes with- 
out signs of animal life, except along the streams which cut 
through them. In the temperate zones, forests composed 
mainly of one particular tree, as, the pine, oak, or maple, fre- 
quently occur; but in the torrid zone, many kinds are mingled 
together, no one predominating. Sometimes as many as one 
hundred kinds of valuable trees may be found growing on as 
many acres of land. In the north of Africa is the Sahara Desert, 
and in Australia, Africa, and South America are tracts of land 
covered with a dense growth of thistles, grasses, small shrubs, 
lilies, and other bulbous plants, in the wet season ; but 
in the dry season, their stems and leaves are burned up by 
the fierce heat, so that the country seems a desert. 4. 
Animal Life, — This is the zone of apes and monkeys, of the 
lion, tiger, and elephant, of the hippopotamus and the 
ourang-outang, of the emu and ostrich, of beautiful birds, of 
venomous serpents, and of large and beautiful insects. All 
grades of animal life, from the lowest to the highest, from 
the most minute to the most gigantic, find a congenial home 
in the hot, moist climate of the torrid zone. 

§ 229. South Warm Temperate Zone. — This zone li s 
between the isotherms of 72° and 60° south, including parts of 



72 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

Southern Australia, Africa, and Sotith America. 2. Climate. — 
The mean annual temperature is about 66°; the winds in the 
northern part are from the south-east, and from the north- 
west in the southern part. The annual rain-fall is about 35 
inches ; it is very scanty in some parts of each of the grand 
divisions. 3. Vegetation. — Vegetation in this zone is not very 
abundant, and does not vary much, in character, from that 
of the north warm temperate, except in Australia, where 
are the eucalipti, the grass-tree, zamia, and trees which have 
only scales for leaves, or whose leaves hang with their edges 
toward the sun, so that they cast but little shadow. In Aus- 
tralia and Africa, there are many flowering shrubs ; as, the 
epacris, geranium, heaths, etc. 4. Animal Life. — In Australia, 
are the kangaroo, echidna, emu, and lyre-bird; in Africa, the 
cape buffalo and numerous antelopes ; in South America, the 
llama and armadillo. 

§ 230. South Temperate Zone. — This zone lies between 
the isotherms of 60° and 40° south, including that portion of 
South America between 32° and 50° south latitude, the 
extreme southern part of Australia, and New Zealand. 
2. Climate. — The mean annual tempei-ature is about 50° ; 
the winds are mainly from the north-west ; the rain-fall is 
rather scanty in South America, but abundant in New 
Zealand. 3. Vegetation. — In South America, are some forests 
of deciduous trees, and some pine-like trees, fuchsias, many 
grasses and other plants, but the steppes are broader than 
the forests ; in New Zealand, there is an abundant vegetation, 
the edible fern, acacias, pines, and the New Zealand flax, are 
most interesting. 4. Animal Life. — Animal life is scanty, the 
horse, ox, armadillo, rabbit, and dog, are found in South 
America; rats with several kinds of birds, in New Zealand. 

§ 231. The Antarctic Zone. — South of isotherm 40° 
there is but little land and but little vegetation, but the 
animal life is quite abundant, consisting of the whale, walrus, 
seal, penguin, albatross and other birds. . 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 73 



MAN". 

§ 232. Man Distinguished prom other Animals. — While 
man depends for his existence on climate, soil, plants, and 
animals, he at the same time stands above them all, as the 
being for whom they were created. Man is distinguished 
from other animals — 1. By his physical structure. — His erect 
form, the perfection of his hand, and the freedom of his hand 
from'use in locomotion are prominent marks of his superiority. 
2. By his intelligence. — Man's superior intelligence is shown 
in his capacity for self-improvement ; he can see himself as 
capable of becoming something more than he is ; the attempt 
to reach this idea leads to self-improvement, of which the ani- 
mal is not capable. 3. By his knowledge of right and wrong. — 
The faculty for knowing right from wrong, and for knowing 
a Supreme Being separates man entirely from other animals, 
and makes him a moral and religious being. 

§ 233. Language. — Language affords a fine illustration 
•of man's superior structure and intelligence. Language is a 
medium for conveying ideas from one intelligent being to 
another. There is a natural language in common between 
men and animals ; but man was able to invent, and had organs 
fitted to express, an arbitrary language, by means of which he 
can more clearly communicate his thoughts to his fellows. 

§ 234. Classification of Languages. — Bach word, of the 
many hundred languages, is itself a monosyllabic root, or can 
be traced back to such a root ; hence it is supposed that each 
language has been developed from a few roots. According to 
the manner in which these roots are combined, languages are 
divided into three classes : 1. Monosyllabic. — In these, the 
roots themselves are independent words, and when the idea 
expressed by one word is to be modified, another word is added. 
2. Agghitinative. — In these, some of the roots joined to others, 
lose their independence, and when the idea expressed by one 
is to be modified, the m.odifying word joins the other, forming 
a compound word. 3. Inflectional. — In these, frequently all 
the roots joined together lose their independence, and the 
original idea expressed by a word is modified by simply 
changing a final syllable, or something of the sort. There 



74 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

are many monosyllabic and agglutinative words in inflection- 
al languages. Illustrations.— In Chinese, a monosyllabic lan- 
guage, MO, meaning house, and Zi, meaning inside, together, 
mean at home ; while in Latin, an inflectional language, domus 
means house, substituting i for us, and domi means at home. 
In Turkish, an agglutinative language, sev means loving in the 
abstract, sev-er means lover or loving, and sev-er-dim means I 
have loved, or literally, " loving belonging to me," while in 
Latin, amo means I love, and amavi means / have loved. Man- 
like, manly, and such meaning so like, illustrate the com- 
bination of roots in each of the classes of language. 

EELIGION. 

§ 235. Religion. — Everywhere, even among the most 
degraded, man has ideas of right and wrong, and of a Deity 
who controls the affairs of men ; a being worthy of love and 
reverence, and whom man fears as he feels himself a wrong- 
doer; a being who is the complement of, and who satisfies the 
longings of, man's spiritual nature. The beliefs, the faiths, and ■ 
the acts of worship growing out of man's spiritual nature and 
his ideas of Deity, constitute what is known as religion. 
Religion can not be added to or subtracted from man ; it has 
its origin in his nature. 

§ 236. Results op Religious Sentiment. — In all ages of 
the world, and among all people, persons have been set apart 
for the purpose of ministering to the religious wants of the 
whole people. These persons have always been a privileged 
class, and usually the most highly educated class among 
the people. While sometimes they have seemed to be 
arrayed against true intellectual progress, still, in general, 
the intellectual culture has been in their hands ; the common 
schools, the academies, the colleges, and the universities have 
in most cases been under their guidance. Religion has not 
only stimulated intellectual culture, but it has promoted the - 
growth of every form of art. The desire of man to manifest 
his regard for Deity in an impressive manner, has prompted 
the grandest works of architecture, sculpture, painting, poetry, 
and music. The religious sentiment in man has been the 
most efficient cause of the culture of man. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 75 

— — ■ jr 

§ 237. Forms op Religion. — There are a great many forms 
ol religion, differing from each other as man differs in various 
parts of the earth. The most important forms are Brahmin - 
ism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, 
Mohammedanism, and Christianity. The forms of religion 
common in Egypt, in ancient Greece, and in ancient Eome 
were also important. The idea of doing the right and avoid- 
ing the wrong, is found in these and in all forms of i-eligion 
Each form of religion must have had its basis in a more or 
less complete idea of the one God. Under each of these 
forms, men of noble character have been developed along 
with men of the deepest depravity. 

§ 238. MONOTHKISTIC AND POLYTHEISTIC FORMS. — The 

forms of religion may be divided into two classes, the poly- 
theistic, in which many gods are worshipped, and the 
monotheistic, in which only one God is worshijDped. The 
polytheistic forms were probably the earliest, and are the 
forms now common among the lower grades of mankind. 
Judaism and its branches, Mohammedanism and Christianity, 
are the only distinctly monotheistic forms of religion. 

§ 239. Judaism. — God seems to have revealed himself 
more fully to Abraham and his children than to any other 
people, and they were peculiar among mankind because the}^ 
worshipped only one God. The Old Testament, the sacred 
book of Judaism, seems more complete than any other scrip- 
tures; its teachings included all the good of the others and 
more, and was better fitted to promote good and to repress 
evil. From the teachings of the Old Testament, the Jews 
expected a Messiah, but about 1875 years ago, when a person 
appeared called Christ, who claimed to be the Messiah the 
main body of the Jews would not accept him, and those who 
did believe in him were called Christians, and their form of 
religion was called Christianity. 

§ 240. Christianity.— Christianity accepts the Old Tes- 
tament as scripture and adds the New; it includes the good 
of Judaism, and adds a clearer comprehension of the brother- 
hood of mankind. In 1054, contentions arising among the 
believers in Christianity, two divisions were formed, the 
Eoman Catholic and the Greek Catholic Churches. During 
the first of the sixteenth century, a number of men, protesting 



76 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

against the customs of the Eoman Catholic Church, formed 
another church which was called the Protestant Church. 
Christianity in some form has been taught in all parts of 
the earth; it seems fitted for all conditions of mankind and 
seems destined to be the universal form of religion. 

§ 241. Mohammedanism and other Forms. — About 600 
years after Christ, Mohammed proclaimed a new form of 
religion, derived partly from Judaism and partly from Chris- 
tianity, but it has not the purity of either. The so-called 
idolatrous or pagan forms of religion are doubtless degener- 
ations from purer forms, through the use of material objects 
to aid in gaining an idea of the spiritual, until the spiritual 
d the material alone remains. 

EACES. 

§ 242. Races.— There are about 1,396,000,000 of people on 
the earth, and it is supposed that they are all descendants of 
one family, although they differ greatly in form, color, intel- 
ligence, language, and religion. No classification yet made 
is quite satisfactory. One, dividing men into three races* 
Aryan, Semitic, and Turanian, on the basis of language and 
religion, has been made ; but the classification most common is 
into five races, on the basis of physical characteristics. 

§ 243. The Indo-European Eace. — The members of this 
race have a white or light complexion, with straight or curled, 
light or dai'k hair, and symmetrical forms. They use the in- 
flectional languages, and accept the higher forms of religion — 
Christianity and Judaism. They are found in Southern and 
South-Western Asia, in Northern Africa, in Central and 
Southern Europe, and many inhabit America and Australia. 

§ 244. The Mongolian Eace. — The members of this race 
have a yellow complexion, coarse, straight, black hair, and in 
general a short, broad form. They use the monosyllabic and 
agglutinative languages, and accept Confucianism, Buddhism, 
and other low forms of religion. They are found in Eastern 
and Northern Asia, and in the northern parts of Europe and 
North America. 

§ 245, The American Eace. — The members of this race 
have a red complexion, coarse, straight, black hair, and in 
general have a tall, shapely form. They use the agglutinative 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



77 



languages, and, with few exceptions, accept the lower forms 
of religion. They com2)ri8e the greater part of the native 
inhabitants of America. 

§ 246. The Malay Eace. — The members of this race have 
a brown complexion, black, straight, or curling hair, and ara 
generally well formed. They use the agglutinative languages, 
and accept even lower forms of religion than the American 
race. They occupy the south-eastern peninsula of Asia, and 
the islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. 

§ 247. The African Eace — The members of this race 
have a black complexion, closely curled black hair, and often 
an ungainly form. They use the agglutinative languages, 
accepting the lowest forms of religion. They are found prin- 
cipally in Africa, but many live in America and Europe. 

§ 248. Divisions of the Indo-European Eace.^ — The 
Indo-European race is divided into the Aryan and Semitic 
families, on the basis of language,: 

1. The Semitic family is divided into two branches, the 
Hebrews and Arabians. They occupy Arabia and the northern 
parts of Africa. Among them originated the higher forms of 
religion — Judaism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism. 

2. The Aryan Family has been divided into seven branches, 
as follows : 

f Germans, f 






f Germans, 

I English, 

AncientGermns, ]I>-^«^'^^ 

Norwegians, 
L Dutch, 



Anc't Slavonians, 



/ Russians, 
I Poles, 



Ancient Romans, -{ 



f French, 

I T i" a 1 1 Q n a 



Italians, 



Ancient Greeks, 



Ancient Celts, 



Spaniards, 
t Portugese, 

Modern Greeks, 

f Irish, 

Highland Scots, 
-I Welsh,. 

I People of Brittany 
L in France, ' 



Ancient Persians, Persians, 
t Ancient Hindoos, Hindoos, 



Germanic Nations. 



\ Slavonic Nations. 

f 

-{ Romanic Nations. 

Greeks. 

r 
I 

-i Celts. 

I 

I 

Persians. 
Hindoos. 



78 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

3. The Aryan family once occupied the valleys of the 
Hindoo Koosh mountains in Central Asia, sending out colo- 
nies at different times ; the Celts and Slavonians toward the 
north- west; the G-ermans, Greeks, and Romans toward the 
west and south-west; the Hindoos toward the south east, 
while the Persians occupy the same region occupied by their 
ancestors many centuries ago. 

4. We know that these different peoples have the same ori- 
gin from the great number of words which are common to 
the languages of all. The common words also give us a brief 
history of the ancient family. Their name signifies that they 
were an agricultural people; they made roads, built ships, 
erected houses, made cloth, had cattle, horses, sheep, swine, 
dogs, etc., and had a knowledge of most of the useful metals; 
the family relation was respected, and they had settled forms 
of religion and government. 

INDUSTRIES. 

§ 249. Physical Wants of Man. — Man as a physical 
being needs tood, clothing, and shelter. At first these wants 
were supplied from the spontaneous productions of the earth ; 
berries, wild fruits, and roots furnishing food ; leaves, bark, 
and caves furnishing clothing and shelter. But soon it was 
found that animals, birds, and fish might furnish materials 
for food, clothing, and shelter; and man by his intelligence 
was able to construct tools, and invent means for capturing 
animals, giving rise to the industries o^ hunting &nd fishing. 

§ 250. Fishing. — Fishing, in general, means catching, 
or the endeavor to catch, any kind of animal life living in the 
water. The most important fish are the herring, cod-fish, 
mackerel, shad, salmon, hake, tuny, haddock, and halibut, 
from cold salt water ; the sturgeon, trout, bass, white-fish, 
perch, pickerel, etc., from cold fresh water. Lobsters, shrimps, 
oysters, mussels, clams, and fish, are useful as they furnish 
material for food ; but the whale, a mammal, is caught for the 
oil and bone which it furnishes, while the seal, another mam- 
mal, is caught mainly for its skin. The importance of the 
fishing industry is shown by the fact that more than half a 
million people are actively engaged in it. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 79 

I § 251. Hunting. — Hunting, in general, means the pursuit 
of any kind of untamed animal life, living on the land, for 
the purpose of catching or killing it. Some animals are hunted 
for their skins and furs ; as, the beaver, mink, otter, sable, 
ermine, fox, and wolf; some are hunted for both their flesh 
and skin ; as, the antelope, deer, bear, buffalo, elk, and moose; 
while birds, as the duck, goose, pigeon, turkey, quail, grouse, 
and snipe, are hunted mainly for their flesh. Fish, birds, and 
other forms of animal life which are useful to man, are abun- 
dant in all parts of the earth. 

§ 252. Domestic Animals and Herding. — Many animals 
have been tamed by man and made useful in various ways ; 
some, as the horse, camel, elephant, reindeer, dog, and ox, 
are used as beasts of burden ; some are valuable for their flesh ; 
as, the sheep, ox, swine, reindeer, and the different fowls, as 
the turkey, hen, and duck. The skins of thehorse, ox, and rein- 
deer, and the wool of the sheep furnish materials for clothing 
and shelter. These animals are called domestic animals, and 
the business of taking care of domestic animals is called 
herding or stock-raising. 

§ 253. Dairy Products. — Of the domestic animals., the 
ox is probably the most useful; he is useful as a beast of bur- 
den, his skin is useful for many purposes, and his flesh furnishes 
a good article of food ; the milk of the cow is an excellent arti- 
cle of food, and from the oily matter in it, butter is made, 
and from the caseins and oil, cheese is made. Milk, butter, and 
cheese are called dairy products, and are extensively used as 
articles of food. 

AGEICULTUKE. 

§ 254. Spontaneous Productions. — At first, the spontane- 
ous productions of the earth were amply sufficient to supply 
the wants of man, and of his domestic animals. In North 
America there are more than one hundred kinds plants whose 
roots, stems, leaves, bark, or fruit make wholesome food for 
man, and many more that are relished by domestic animals. 
The other grand divisions furnish a proportionate number; but 
as man and animals increased in numbers, these spontaneous 
productions began to fail, and man was compelled to aid naturo 
in the work of producing useful plants. 



80 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

§ 255. Agriculture. — Agriculture is the cultivation of 
the soil for the purpose of raising useful plants. There are 
several different kinds of soil ; as, clay soil, composed of alu- 
minum, silicon, and oxygen ; sandy soil, composed mainly of 
silica ; loamy soil, composed of a mixture of nearly equal 
parts of clay and sand; if there is more clay than sand, it is a 
clay loam, if more sand than clay, it is a sand loam; a mucky 
soil, composed largely of decayed vegetation ; and an alluvial 
soil composed of sediments from running water. 

§ 256. Fertilizers. — Each plant has a definite composi- 
tion; if the soil does not contain the elements needed by the 
plant, they must be supplied from manures ov fertilizers. The 
most common fertilizers are, animal excrements, common 
lime, burned bones, ashes of plants, guano, and muck. 

§ 257. Food Plants. — Vegetable products are valuable 
for food, as they contain albumen, starch, sugar or, oil. The 
following plants are the most important: 

1 EiCE. — Kice is a water plant, growing in a clayey soil 
which for the greater part of the growing season is covered 
with fresh water ; the climate should be hot and moist. JRice 
is the staple food for more people than any other grain. 

2. Wheat. — Wheat grows best in a well-drained clay 
soil, in an average temperature of about 50°. Good qualities 
grow on sandy and loamy soils. 

3. Maize. — Maize, or Indian corn, grows best in a rich 
loamy soil, with hot sunshine and frequent showers. It 
grows well between the isotherms of 65° and 45°. 

4. Barley. — Barley does well in almost any soil or 
climate, but best in a cool climate, as between the isotherms 
of 40° and 46°. 

5. Eye. — Rye grows well in the same soil and climate as 
barley. They will do well on poorer soils, and in a cooler 
climate than other grains. 

6. Oats. — Oats do best in a clay soil, and in a cool moist 
climate. iVoi«?.— The plants already mentioned are members 
of the grass family. 

7. Buckwheat. — Buckwheat can mature its seed in about 
three months, so that it can be raised during the short sum- 
mer of the cold temperate zone, and it grows well on com- 
paratively poor soils. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



81 



8. Pease and Beans. — Pease and beans are members of 
the^ea fiamily, and grow well in almost any soil or climate. 

9. The Potato. — The potato will grow in any soil or 
climate, but does best in a light soil with an average tempera- 
ture of about 60°. The yam and sweet potato also need a light 
soil, but thrive best in an average temperature of from 60'' 
to 72°. 

10. The Date and Banana. — The date, the banana, and 
other members of the banana family contain large quantities of 
sugar, and are the principal articles of food in the torrid 
zones. About 60 per cent, of dates, and 20 per cent, of 
bananas is sugar. 

11. The Composition op Important Plants. — The follow- 
ing table shows the proportion of albumen, starch, etc., in 100 
parts by weight of the most important plants ; 





Albumen. 


Starch. 


Sugar. 


ou. 


Wheat— flour, of 


10.8 


66.3 


4.2 


2.0 


Corn — meal, of 


11.0 
6.3 


64.7 
69.4 


0.4 
4.9 


8.1 


Barley— meal, of 


2.4 


Rye — meal, of. 


8.0 
12.6 

6.3 
10.0 

2.1 


69.4 

58.4 
79.1 
50.0 
18.8 


3.7 
5.4 
0.4 
4.0 
3.2 


2.0 


Oat — meal, of 


5.6 


Rice, of 


0.7 


Buckwheat, of 




Potato, of 


0.2 


Pease and Beans, of.. 


23.0 


55.4 


2.0 


2.1 



§ 258. Other Important Plants. — 1. Those furnishing 
sugar ; as the sugar cane, beetroot, grape, and sugar-maple. 
2. Various Fruits ; as the apple, pear, peach, and plum of the 
temperate zones, and the orange, lemon, fig, and pomegran- 
ate of the warm temperate zones. 3. Berries ; as strawberries, 
raspberries, blackberries, and cranberries. 4. Spices; as nut- 
megs, cloves, cinnamon, and pepper. 5. Luxuries; as tea, coffee, 
opium from the poppy, and tobacco. 6. Medicinal Plants ; 
as the cinchona tree, mandrake, rhubarb, and aloes. 7. Oil- 
bearing Plants ; as the olive, castor-bean, and the seed of flax. 
6 



82 LESSONS. IN GEOGRAPHY. 

8. Gum-hearing Plants; as the acacia, myrrh, india-rubber, 
and gutta-percha. 9. Market Garden Products ; as asparagus, 
celery, lettuce, radish, cucumber, onion, pie-plant, and many 
others. 

§ 259. Plants furnishing Materials for Clothing. — 
The most important of these is the cotton plant, a shrub 
growing in sandy soils in the warm temperate and torrid 
zones. 2. Flax. Flax rivals cotton in importance, and grows 
well through a wider range of climate. 3. Hem-p. Hemp does 
best in a temperature of from 50° to 65*^. The fibre is not 
quite as fine as that of flax or cotton. 4. The Mulberry. The 
leaves of the mulberry iurnish material from which the silk- 
worm makes silk. Silk, cotton, linen from flax and hemp, 
wool from sheep, and the skins from animals are the principal 
materials from which clothing is made. 

§ 260. Plants furnishing Food for Animals. — As food 
for domestic animals, grasses are the most important plants. 
The various kinds of grasses furnish the principal food of 
most domestic animals during the warmer pai'ts of the year, 
and when cut and cured as hay, these grasses form the staple 
article of food for many of the domestic an-imals during the 
winter. Corn, oats, barley, pease, beans, turnips, and many 
other vegetables are also used as food for animals. Consider- 
ing the value of the hay cut, and so much of the value of 
domestic animals, wool, and dairy products, as depends on the 
grass eaten, the grass crop is the most valuable crop cul- 
tivated. In 1870 the value of this crop in the United States 
was more than $700,000,000. 

§ 261. Materials for Shelter. — Forest products furnish 
most of the materials for shelter. The pine, oak, walnut, 
cedar, poplar, maple, beech, elm, ash, bamboo, eucaliptus, and 
many other trees furnish materials for shelter, and for many 
other purposes. 

§ 262. Distribution of Useful Plants. — Beginning at 
the north, first are pine forests, barley, rye, good grasses, and 
acid berries ; then oats, wheat, flax, and forests of oak, maple, 
walnut, ash, and elm, with the orchard products, as, the apple 
and pear; then corn, potatoes, tobacco, and hemp; then 
rice, cotton, and cofi'ee ; then the banana, date, sugar-cane, 
bamboo, mahogany, rose-wood, and others. Most of the 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 83 

important food plants are natives of South-western Asia. 
Maize, the potato, and tobacco are natives of America. 

MINING, 

§ 263. Mining. — Mining is the process of taking useful 
rocks and metals from the ground. Mining became an impor- 
tant industry, when man found that the earth contained sub- 
stances which, for some purposes, were more useful than any- 
animal or vegetable substances, 

§ 264. KocKS. — Eocks are usually found in horizontal 
layers like the leaves of a book. The more important kinds 
of rocks are granite, sandstone, slate, limestone, coal, and salt. 

1. Granite. — Granite is the oldest of the rocks, and is com- 
posed of quartz, feldspar, and mica. There are many varieties 
of granite, depending on the varying proportions of these sub- 
stances. Granite that contains a large proportion of either 
quartz or feldspar, is veiy hard and enduring, and is useful 
for building or ornamental purposes. Quartz is composed of 
silicon and oxygen ; feldspar of aluminum, silicon, and oxy- 
gen, with some potash or soda ; mica contains the same ingre- 
dients as feldspar in different proportions, and in addition 
some iron. 

2. Sandstone. — As the old granite rocks were broken 
down and pulverized, the quartz became sand ; a portion 
of this sand cemented into rock, forms sandstone. Sand- 
stone varies much ija quality, owing to the character of the 
cement. A firm sandstone is good material for building pur- 
poses. Iron from the mica frequently gives sandstone a red- 
dish color. 

3. Slate-rock. — The broken down feldspar and mica form 
the different varieties of clay, and furnish the potash, 
soda, and iron, which plants get from the soil. A portion of 
this clay, subjected to great heat and pressure, became slate- 
rock. Slate splits easily into thin plates, and does not 
absorb moisture, hence it is very useful for roofing. 

4. Limestone. — Limestone is composed of calcium, oxygen, 
and carbonic acid. It is easily cut with a knife, and it often 
contains fossil shells. It is a useful building stone, and when 
burned to drive off the carbonic acid, it becomes common 



84 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

lime, and is used for mortar, as a fertilizer, and as a disin- 
fectant. Marble, which has the same composition as lime- 
stone, is used for ornamental work and for building. 

5. Coal. — Coal, formed from the rank vegetation of 
the 4th Age, is useful as a fuel. Its value depends 
on the amount of carbon and hydrogen contained in it. 
In 100 parts of good bituminous coal, there are from 60 to 
80 parts of carbon, and from 5 to 8 parts of hydrogen ; in 100 
parts of good anthracite coal, there are about 90 parts of car- 
bon, and 2 parts of hydrogen. 

6. Salt. — Salt is composed of sodium and chlorine. It is 
used as an article of food by both men and animals. Exten- 
sive layers of rock salt have been found, from which salt is 
mined. Salt is also obtained from sea water and salt 
springs by evaporation. 

§ 265. Metals. — Metals are usually found in veins or 
cracks in the rocks, which are seldom more than a few feet 
in width. The most important metals are iron, copper, lead, 
zinc, tin, gold, silver, and mercury. The metal may be 
found 'purein the vein, when it is called native; sometimes 
two metals are combined, forming an alloy-; but more fre- 
quently a metal is combined with some other substance, 
forming an ore. 

1. Iron. — Iron is always found as an ore. That from 
which the best iron is made is the magnetic iron ore, com- 
posed of iron and oxygen. Hematite^ the most abundant ore 
of iron, is mainly composed of iron and oxygen. Carbonate 
of iron is also an important ore of iron, while the sulphide 
of iron is worth more for its sulphur than for its iron. 

2. Copper. — Copper is found in nature as an ore, an alloy, 
and as native copper. It is a tough, heavy metal, and was 
probably one of the first metals used by man, as the native 
copper can be shaped without the aid of fire. 

3. Lead. — Lead is always found as an ore, and most 
abundantly as galena or sulphide of lead, which usually has 
the form of greyish cubical crystals. It is useful to man in 
many ways. 

4. Zinc. — Zinc is always found as an ore, most abundantly 
as the sulphide. Zinc forms with copper useful alloys ; as, 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 85 

brass and German silver. It is sometimes used as a preserv- 
ative coating for iron, and is useful for many other purposes. 

5. Tin. — Tin usually occurs as the oxide of tin. It is a 
silver-white metal, which is not affected by the action of the 
air, and is used as a preservative coating for iron. It is also 
an ingredient of many useful alloys; as, pewter, solder, 
bronze, and bell-metal. 

6. Gold. — Gold is found mostly as native gold, or as an 
alloy; but sometimes it is so intimately mixed with other 
substances, that it is virtually an ore. Gold occurs in veins, 
or in the alluvial sands formed by the breaking down of the 
vein rock. Taking gold from the veins is called lode mining ; 
taking it from the sands is called placer mining. 

7. Silver. — Silver occurs in nature as an ore, an alloy, 
and as native silver. The most abundant ores of silver are, 
the sulphide of silver, silver combined with sulphur; and 
chloride of silver, silver combined «with chlorine. Gold and 
silver are both highly prized for their beauty and durability, 
and on account of their scarcity. 

8. Mercury. — Mercury is a very dense metal, which is 
liquid at ordinary temperatures. It is usually found in 
nature as a sulphide. It is used extensively in separating 
gold and silver from other substances, and in the making of 
thermometers, barometers, and mirrors. 

9. Reduction of Ores. — The pure metal is obtained from 
the ore mainly through the action of heat. Sometimes not 
only great heat is necessary to free the metal from impurities, 
but chemical agents must be used, as in the case of iron. But 
lead and mercury are separated from their impurities by a 
comparatively slight degree of heat. 

MANUFACTUEING. 

§ 266. Manufacturing. — The work of preparing vegetable, 
animal, or mineral products for use is called manufacturing. 
In some cases the work is very simple, the manufactured 
article differing but little from the raw material, while in 
other cases more work is done and a greater change is wrought 
in the raw material ; some operations employ the labor of 



86 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

but one person with simple tools, while others employ many 
persons with more or less complicated machinery, driven by 
animal, wind, water, or steam power. 

§ 267. Important Manufacturing Operations — The 
manufacture of wheat, barley, corn, and other grains into 
flour or meal ; the manufacture of cotton, wool, or silk into 
cloth, and the cloth into articles of clothing ; the manufac- 
ture of leather, and of articles from leather; the manufacture 
of forest trees into lumber, and the lumber into buildings and 
other useful articles, are the most important manufacturing 
operations. All the above work was formerly done by hand, 
now it is done more quickly, cheaply, and better by steam- 
driven machinery. 

§ 268. Value of Manufactured Articles. — Iron ore is 
taken from the mine, melted, cast, re-melted and cast, rolled 
or hammered into the various kinds of machinery, agricul- 
tural implements, tools, building material, etc. The value of 
these articles depends on the amount of iron in them, and on 
the amount of work necessary to make the article. A quan- 
tity of iron ore sufficient to make a ton of iron is worth, in 
the mine, only $3 or $4; taken from the mine and manufac- 
tured into pig iron, it is worth $20 or S25 ; made into bar 
iron, it is worth |65 ; made into steel, it is worth ^300 ; made 
into watch springs, it is worth more than its weight in gold. 

COMMERCE. 

§ 269. Commerce or Trade. — An agricultural people 
might raise more grain than they could use, while a manu- 
facturing people might make more cloth, iron, or leather, than 
they could use; each might have a surplus, and each need 
the surplus of the other. The exchange of these products, 
and the carrying or transporting of them from one locality to 
another, constitute commerce, or trade and transportation. 
If the commerce is between different parts of the same 
country, it is domestic commerce; if between different coun- 
tries, it is foreign commerce. Products sent from a country 
or locality are exports, those brought into it are imports. 

§ 270. Transportation.— Much of the transportation of 
commerce is carried on by means of boats on the oceans, 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 87 

lakes, rivers, and canals, which are artificial rivers. There 
are more than 100,000 steam or sail boats or vessels engaged 
in the commerce of the world on the oceans, great lakes, and 
rivers. But the main part of the transportation of domestic 
or overland commerce is carried on by means of steam power 
on railways. Transportation by means of small rivers and 
canals is diminishing. 

§ 271. Eailways. — The first railway was built of wooden 
rails about the year 1620. Next the wood was protected 
by strips of iron, then cast-iron rails were used, and 
finally the rolled iron and steel rails of the present. At the 
beginning of this century, there were not more than ten miles 
of railway; now there are more than 180,000 miles in active 
operation. Steam power was first used on railways in 1804. 
Transportation by railway is more rapid than by water, but 
more costly. 

§ 272. GrROWTH OF MANUFACTURING AND COMMERCIAL COUN- 
TRIES. — The conditions favorable to the growth of manufac- 
turing countries are, — an abundance of raw material, with but 
small cost for transportation ; an abundance of cheap power 
and labor, with cheap and rapid transportation to the 
countries demanding the manufactured products. 

The conditions favorable to the growth of commercial 
countries are, — a surplus of natural or manufactured products, 
a demand for the products of other countries, and cheap trans- 
portation to other countries ; or facilities for cheap and rapid 
transportation between countries which need each other's 
surplus products. 

GOVERNMENT. 

§ 273. GrOVERNMENT. — Man by nature is fitted for, and 
desires society. He can attain his highest culture, and secure 
his manifold rights only through society. Society can not be 
useful, can not exist, without law and organization. An 
organized society is a nation or state. Those persons whose 
duty it is to make, apply, and execute the laws, together, 
form what is sometimes called the government. Government 
is also defined as the " operation of law." Society, law, and 
government are not foreign and artificial to man, but neces- 
sary and natural. 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



§ 274. Functions of Government, — Each government ex- 
ercises three distinct functions : 

1. The Legislative, or law making function. 

2. The Judicial, or law applying function. 

3. The Executive, or law enforcing function. 

§ 275. Forms of Government. — There are many different 
forms of government arising from the varying character and 
intelligence of man. The most important forms are, — the 
Eepublican, the Limited Monarchy, and the Absolute Mon- 
archy. 

1. The Republican Form of Government. — In a republican 
form of government, the power is in the hands of the people. 
When the men, over a certain age, come together as a legis- 
lative body, make the laws, and appoint men to apply and 
execute them, the government is called & pure democracy. If 
the people are so numerous that a pure democracy is not 
practicable, two bodies of representatives are chosen to make 
the laws : an upper house, composed of a few members chosen 
for a long term, and a lower house, composed of more mem- 
bers chosen for a shorter term. 

A President is also elected for a term ©f years, who with 
his assistants, executes the laws. The laws are applied in 
particular cases, by Judges who are elected by the people, or 
appointed by the President, with the consent of the upper 
house of the legislative body. The affairs of a republican 
form of government, are carried on in accordance with a writ- 
ten compact or constitution, which designates the various 
officers of the government, and states the duties of each. The 
nations of America are nearly all republics. 

2. A JAmited or Constitutional Monarchy. — In a limited 
monarchy, the Executive holds his position by virtue of 
his birth, but his power is limited by a constitution, by courts, 
and by legislative bodies. The members of the upper house, 
in general, are appointed by the Executive, or are members 
by virtue of their birth. The members of the lower house 
are chosen by the people. Practically, there is no great dif- 
ference between a limited monarchy, and a republican form 
of government. 

3. An Absolute Monarchy. — In an absolute monarchy, the 
Executive holds his position by virtue of his birth, and is the 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 89 

head of each of the departments of government, having no 
legal limitations ; but tradition, and the intelligence and 
character of the people limit his action in a greater or less 
degree. 

The nations of Europe are limited monarchies, or absolute 
monarchies of a liberal type; while the nations of Asia and 
Africa are absolute monarchies, many of them of the lowest 
type. 

CULTURE. 

§ 276. Classes op Men. — On the basis of culture, man- 
kind is divided into four classes : the Savage, the Barbarous, 
the Half-Civilized, and the Civilized. 

1. The Savage. This class of mankind has a low degree 
of intelligence; speaks, but does not write, the monosyllabic or 
agglutinative languages, and accepts the lowest forms of 
religion. For food, clothing, and shelter, this class depends on 
the spontaneous products of the earth. The principal indus- 
tries are hunting and fishing. They have no division of 
labor, no accumulation of property, no knowledge of metals ; 
they have but few domestic animals, and the women are 
treated as slaves. They have no settled forms of government, 
and generally, no fixed dwelling places. This class includes 
the greater portion of the Malayan, African, and American 
races, and that portion of the Mongolian race living in the 
northern parts of America, Europe, and Asia. 

2. The Barbarous. — This class has a higher degree of 
intelligence than the Savage, using a better form of the same 
classes of languages, making use of picture writing, etc., for 
purposes of history, and in some cases using phonetic char- 
acters. They live in cities, and understand the use of fire in 
working metals; they carry agriculture, manufacturing, and 
architecture to a high degree of perfection. There are large 
accumulations of property, and more or less division of labor ; 
accepting such forms of religion as Erahminism and 
Buddhism; their governments are despotic; learning is mostly 
confined to the priests ; slavery, caste, polygamy, etc., are 
allowed In this class are included such nations as the 
Ancient Assyrians, Egyptians, and Aryans ; the Aztecs and 



90 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

Peruvians of America, and some nations in Africa and South- 
western Asia. 

3. Half Civilized. — This class is a little in advance of the 
Barbarous, having more liberal forms of government, and 
higher forms of religion ; as, those of Judaism and Zoroaster. 
Alphabets, and in some instances inflectional languages are 
used; learning is more widely disseminated among the com- 
mon people, and there is a better knowledge of the useful 
metals than among the Barbarous class. The Ancient Jews 
and Phoenicians, the Chinese and Japanese, are examples of 
this class. 

4. Civilized. — In civilized nations the inflectional lan- 
guages are spoken and written ; steel tools are in commoh 
use among the people, and all the industries, arts, and 
sciences are carried to a high degree of perfection. Univer- 
sities, colleges, and common schools are supported by- 
governments or individuals for the purpose of educating the 
masses of the people. Christianity, the highest form of 
religion, is generally accepted; Eepublics and Limited 
Monarchies, the highest forms of government, prevail. Mo- 
nogamy is legalized, and woman holds a high position. To 
this class belong those descendants of the Ancient Aryans 
living in Europe and America. 

§ 277. Progress op Culture in the Indo-European 
Eace. — History and tradition point to South-western Asia, 
and North-eastern Africa, as the early home of the race, and 
as the birthplace of culture. This locality is the native 
home of the most important domestic animals, and culti- 
vated plants ; stock-raising, agriculture, and other industries 
had their origin in this region ; there, architecture and 
other forms of art were extensively cultivated ; there, many 
facts in the different sciences were discovered ; there, impor- 
tant nations arose, and there, the most important forms of 
religion had their origin. Greece, in Southern Europe 
gathered up many of these ideas, and made great advance- 
ment in the different departments of art and literature; 
she made some progress in ideas of government, contributed 
many facts to the physical sciences, and laid the foundation 
for the mental sciences. Eome made some advancement in 
ideas of law and government, and carried the Christian form 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 91 

of religion into all jaarts of Europe. The invention of print- 
ing about the year 1450, gave a new impulse to culture, and 
transferred the leadership in progress, from the Latin to the 
German nations. The introduction of the mariner's com- 
pass, the discovery of America, and the passage around 
Africa, made the close of the fifteenth century an important 
era in the history of progress. The idea that every man is 
free, first began to manifest itself in Germany. This idea 
has stimulated every form of activity. It brought about the 
reformation in religion ; it organized more liberal forms of 
government ; it established free schools and free churches ; 
it invented the spinning jenny, power looms, and other 
labor-saving machines; it applied steam to stationary and 
locomotive machinery ; it invented the power printing press, 
the cotton gin, and the telegraph. Now the conditions are 
such that every one with a sound mind in a sound body, 
may have comforts that kings' conld not command a few 
hundred years ago, and may attain a degree of mental and 
moral culture which was impossible even to the wealthy a few 
centuries ago. The slave of to-day is the one enslaved by his 
own weaknesses or vices. The culture of the nineteenth 
century allows each one to make the most of all his powers. 

STUDY OP THE GEAND DIVISIONS. 

§ 278. Study of the Grand Divisions. — Study the grand 
divisions in the following order: South America, Africa, 
Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. In studying 
the southern grand divisions, give special attention to the 
physical features and climate, applying the principles already 
learned. In studying Africa, give considerable attention to 
the study of Egypt and its history. In studying Asia, strive 
to gain some definite ideas about the Chinese and Japanese, 
and about all members of the Indo-European race, getting as 
much as possible of their early history. Study all the 
political divisions of Europe, giving special attention to 
Greece, Italy, and the German States, getting as much of 
their history as possible. Then study North America, giving 
special attention to the United States. 

On revieiv, compare the grand divisions on all points 
made ; consider the effect of climate on the nature of animal 



92 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 



and vegetable life, and on man. Trace the development of the 
Indo-European race from Asia through Europe to both 
Americas and Australia. Be sure to form in your minds a 
definite and truthful idea of each grand division. 

§ 279. Study op a Grand Division. — In studying a grand 
division, discuss the various subjects in the following order : 

f Actual — Latitude and Longitude. 

\ Eelative — Boundaries. 
Area. 
Outline. 
Surface, 

{Temperature. 
Winds. 
Eain-fall. 
Drainage. 

Mineral Productions. 
Natural Tegetation. 
Natural Animal Life. 
Number, 
Eace. 



1. Position. 

2. 
3. 
4. 



10. Man. 



Forms of {^^l^g^°°- , 
( (xovernment. 



Farming. 

Stock-Eaising. 

Mining. 

Manufactures. 

Commerce. 



will apply to a 



Education. 

Industries 

Culture. 
Principal Cities. 

The above, with slight modification, 
political division. 

§ 280. Mapping. — For the purpose of fixing ideas of the 
form, outline, and position of a grand division, and the 
actual and relative position of its mountains, rivers, and 
lakes, each division should be mapped as it is studied. 

To draw a map. — 1. Di-aw a horizontal line for the bot- 
tom of the map, and at its center, erect a perpendicular line 
for the central meridian, as long as the map is to be high ; 
across its upper end, draw a horizontal line for the top of 
the map. 

2. Decide how many parallels you wish to represent, and 
indicate the points at which each should cross the central 
meridian. 

Illustration : In mapping Africa, if you call the top of the 
map 40° N. and the bottom 40° S., to represent ev^ery tenth 



LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 93 

parallel, you must draw seven lines for parallels; to represent 
every twentieth, parallel, only three lines need to be drawn. 

B. If you wish to map one of the southern grand divi- 
sions, through the points indicated draw horizontal lines for 
parallels ; but if you wish to map a northern grand division, 
draw concentric curved lines for parallels. Use a shorter 
radius in drawing parallels for Asia, than when drawing 
for Europe, and shorter still when drawing for North 
America. After a few trials these lines can be drawn nicely 
fi'ee-hand. 

4. With the length of 1° or 10° of latitude as a unit, 
indicate the points at which the necessary meridians should 
cross the different parallels. The following table will aid in 
locating these points : 

On the equator, 10° of longitude equal 10° of latitude. 

On the 10th parallel, 10° of longitude is about ^^^ ^®^® 
than 10° of latitude. s 

On the 20th parallel, 10° of longitude is about j'g less 
than 10° of latitude. 

On the 30th parallel, 10° of longitude is about | less than 
10° of latitude. 

On the 40th parallel, 10° of longitude is about | less than 
10° of latitude. 

On the 50th parallel, 10° of longitude is about | less than 
10° of latitude. 

On the 69th parallel, 10° of longitude is about i less than 
10° of latitude. 

On the 70th parallel, 10° of longitude is about | less than 
10° of latitude. 

On the 80th parallel, 10° of longitude is about | less than 
10° of latitude. 

In locating the points from this table, use as a measure a 
piece of paper equal in length to the number of degrees of 
latitude taken as a unit, fold it so that it will indicate |-, |-, ^, 
Jg, etc. When these points are located, draw through them, 
free-hand, lines representing the meridians. Then draw the 
sides of the map, making the lines bounding the map much 
heavier than the lines representing the parallels and 
meridians. Each line should be of uniform width and 
strength throughout its entire length. After a little practice 



94 LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY. 

these points can be located by the eye without the measure, 
and all the curved lines can be drawn free-hand. The dotted 
or discontinuous curved line looks well, and can be more 
easily drawn than a continuous curved line. 

5. When the lines representing the parallels and merid- 
ians are drawn, begin at the top and indicate the outline of 
the land by a clear and distinct line, showing the more 
prominent irregularities. Then indicate the plateaus and 
mountains. The shading for the plateaus can be done 
quickly by using the side of the crayon. The mountains 
may be represented by chains of ovals on the plateaus, and 
short straight lines radiating from these ovals will indicate 
the slopes. Then the rivers and lakes should be drawn. In 
drawing rivers, begin at the source and draw toward the 
mouth without raising the crayon ; thus a line may be 
formed which increases regularly in width. 

6. For mapping the individual States, use straight lines 
for latitude and longitude lines, so that the pupil may get an 
idea ol the actual position of the State which he is mapping. 
Practice rapid, free-hand map-drawing on the blackboard. 

The above suggestions will be useful in making maps on 
paper. For instructions as to manner of inking and color- 
ing maps on paper, consult Eclectic Geography ISo. 3, pages 
27, 28, and 29. 



